Thor Movie Update: ‘Warriors Three’ Cast

Are you waiting for the hammer to fall on the big screen (Mjolnir, that is)?! Of course you are and so are we!

When Thor makes his big screen debut on May 20, 2011, he’ll have some company with him—as reported today by Variety.com!

Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, longtime friends and fellow Asgardians who usually work together as a team known as the Warriors Three, are Thor’s allies and companions.

Fandral will be played by Stuart Townsend. The job of Hogun goes to Tadanobu Asano. And Volstagg will be portrayed Ray Stevenson.

They join the previously announced Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. Kenneth Branagh will direct.

“Thor” is one of a continuing slate of films being produced by Marvel Studios based on the Marvel characters, including “Iron Man 2″ on May 7, 2010, “The First Avenger: Captain America” on July 22, 2011 and “The Avengers” on May 4, 2012.

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for the official word on all things to do with Marvel movies!

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Anthony Hopkins In Negotiations To Play Odin In ‘Thor’

There’s two bits of Thor casting news in my in-tray but they’re of such completely completely different scales - think a Smurf sitting on the shoulder of a Na’vi.

The big break is that Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to play Odin, Thor’s old man and top-dog of the Norse, in Kenneth Branagh’s film about the four-colour god of Thunder. We had heard rumours that Brian Blessed was taking the role, but that was some time ago and, well… things change, I suppose.

Hopkins strikes me as an incredibly good choice, not least because he looks a little bit like Chris Hemsworth, who has been cast as Thor. Okay, maybe only if you squint but I can see it. Mainly though, he has the right sort of chops, being both actorly and a touch (dare I say it?) hammy. In the best possible sense.

News of his casting comes from the Heat Vision blog at THR, who also give a summary of the film’s plot:

The movie’s story sees the god of thunder Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans. Once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends dark forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

So now we know for (almost) sure how they’re doing this.

What was this about another bit of news? Nothing too exciting, but Spoiler TV have a casting notice for what seems like a minor character:

[ISABEL ALVAREZ] 50’s/60’s A sweet small town gal who has lived her whole life in the same little town where she grew up. She’s faced plenty of ups and downs in her many years but has everything she’s ever wanted or needed in the small slice of Americana, family, friends and the best little restaurant in town.

Thor will finally start rolling in the new year and then we’ll finally get to see the thing in 2011. Epic.

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Is J. Michael Straczynski leaving Thor?

By the beard of Odin! Can this be true?!

Comixtreme has reported that Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski will be concluding his epic run of Thor in September, with Thor: Defining Moments Giant-Size #1.

This book was not in last week’s previews, but Comixtreme says that this new solicit — which will be in July’s issue of Previews — declares that Defining Moments will be Straczynski’s bow from the series.

This may signal a shift for Straczynski, who ended his exclusive contract with Marvel in February of 2008 to pursue some writing opportunities with DC Comics. Thor, while critically acclaimed by many, has also been a perennially late title, so a creative shift may put the book on a more frequent schedule.

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Brian Blessed Cast as Odin in ‘Thor’

According to Rich Johnston’s new site Bleeding Cool, Brian Blessed has been cast as Odin, All-Father of Valhalla in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. Frankly, I’m very happy with this news. The only way I could be happier is if somebody could get me confirmation that Blessed would record a commentary track for the film - the one he did for Flash Gordon is a real favorite in my household. I sincerely hope Max von Sydow has heard it.

Blessed is these days more famous for his general all round demeanor, his mountaineering exploits (and mountainous stature) and his BOOMING voice than any specific role, though his Flash Gordon role as Prince Vultan would probably be his most popular turn. That gave rise to his “Gordon’s Alive?” catchphrase which, apparently, he still yells out in his gruff-jolly way for fans whenever asked.

I once heard a stand up comedian do a long routine about sleeping with Blessed’s daughter, but I won’t repeat any of it here or even name the act, not after all of that Russel Brand/Jonathan Ross/Andrew Sachs nonsense. Suffice to say, Blessed’s booming voice came into play in a rather amusing way.

I’m expecting to see several other frequent collaborators of Branagh to come rolling up in the Thor picture, from Richard Briers to Stephen Fry. If any of you know the comic book well enough you might like to tip me off as to what parts could suit them. Are they likely to get only newly minted parts or day player pieces, or are there some key parts for any of them?

The appeal to me with this Thor project is Branagh, really. I don’t think the comic book really means that much to me, though several of Branagh’s previous films, from Dead Again to Hamlet, I’ve liked a great deal. Peter’s Friends, however… that’s a different story. That one, I try to forget.

Bleeding Cool is a comics blog though, Hollywood being what it is, I’m not surprised Johnston had a film related story in only his second day of operations. I know that he actually worked with Blessed in his “other life” as a writer of radio ads, so I’m trusting this story 100%.

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‘Thor’ Villain Cast - Tom Hiddleston Is Loki

I’m not as happy about who this casting includes as I am who it excludes. Kenneth Branagh’s Thor just hired its Norse God over the weekend (Kirk the elder, Chris Hemsworth, from the new Star Trek flick. And now he’s got a rival - Tom Hiddleston, or so says Deadline Hollywood Daily.

The one drawback to hiring Hiddleston is, very simply, villains make comic book movies about 75% of the time. Those roles have commonly been reserved for big Oscar nominees like Hackman, Nicholson, Ledger, Dafoe, and McKellen. Hiddleston just isn’t in that group, no offense.

Branagh likes him, though, and mentioned what a great actor Hiddleston is during a recent discussion on who might emerge as Thor. (Branagh and Hiddleston work together on the BBC series Wallander.)

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Chris Hemsworth Has Been Cast For The Lead In ‘Thor’

Chris Hemsworth has been cast as the title character in Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel’s Thor. Hemsworth will also be playing the mythic comic book character in the Summer 2012 superhero team-up film The Avengers.

You might be wondering, “Who the hell is Chris Hemsworth?” While you might not recognize his name, you saw him on the big screen last weekend in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek as George Kirk. Some of my critic friends had a big problem with Hemsworth’s performance in the opening sequence, but I did not.

Nikki Finke reports that Marvel and Branagh made the final decision earlier today after reviewing Hemsworth’s test footage, which was described as “Oh my god.” Chris is currently in production on the Joss Whedon-written Drew Goddard-directed horror film The Cabin in the Woods. The Australian actor was also just cast as the lead role in MGM’s Red Dawn remake last week.

He’s a virtual unknown in the United States, but he was a star on a successful television series back in Oz (171 episodes of Home and Away) and was on the 2006 Australian version of Dancing with the Stars.

Written by Mark Protosevich, the story has been described as being “like a superhero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It’s the story of an Old Testament god who becomes a New Testament god”.

Marvel will self-finance the production, and the film will be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Marvel has announced a June 17th 2011 release date for the film.

Discuss: What do you think of Hemsworth as Thor?

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Marvel’s Updated Movie Release Schedule

There’s been some rumblings about “Iron Man 2″ and “Thor” in the news lately.  If things go according to plan, Marvel is going to become a movie powerhouse with all the projects they have coming out.

Marvel has just released a press release stating the new dates.
Iron Man 2 on May 7, 2010 (unchanged)
Thor on June 17, 2011 (changed from July 16, 2010, that makes sense)
Spider-Man 4 on May 6, 2011
Captain America on July 22, 2011 (changed from May 6, 2011)
The Avengers on May 4, 2012 (changed from July 15, 2011)

The plan is to have all the movies (except most likely the Sony produced Spider-Man) interwoven together for the release of The Avengers.  We will get a Marvel superhero movie each summer from 2010 to 2012.

Start saving your money for popcorn…

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Casting Call For ‘Thor’ Reveals Details About The Lead Role

A casting notice for the lead role in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor not only tells us that the situation is still vacant, but what criteria will be applied in selecting the big screen God of Thunder. Coming Attractions have been slipped the following definition of a Marvelous Norseman and plenty of people aren’t going to like it:

Male MUST BE MID-LATE 20?S and SIX FEET OR TALLER. LEAD.

Physically powerful, very handsome, occasionally egotistical, petulant, and wild. A natural warrior with a quick charming wit who must be genuinely and severly humbled before becoming the compassionate, mature hero of our film.

Some controversial points there, not least that they’re looking for a 20 something. It might just be that I’m getting old, but it feels to me like 20 somethings are, in reality, the new teens while to the studios and casting agencies, they’re being used as the new 30 somethings.

I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense in an origin story that the lead hasn’t really lived much yet, but I think most people’s immediate conception of Thor is not necessarily compatible with that. Simply put, I think folk typically conceive of gods as being older. And there must be a modicum of outrage due when Kevin McKidd, for sometime now a fanboy fave for the role and definitely a choice I could quite easily see working out, appears to have been kicked to the curb in favour of a younger demo. This does have a whiff of Internet upset about it, but I bet it’s quickly overshadowed by the inevitable casting of a youngster as He-Man in the Masters of the Universe movie. Just a hunch.

The arc of Thor being “genuinely and severely humbled” is interesting, and perhaps indicates why the casting skews younger- but it still wasn’t necessary. People of all ages can and regularly do need to be humbled, of course, and definitely on some kind of mythical scale 30 something can still be played out as small fry.

On the other hand, when it ultimately comes to selling our 20 something hammerman as having matured, the narrative should do all of the work - Thor will have undergone the maturing process before our eyes, and therefore we’ll hopefully buy into it.

The emphasis on a “charming wit” wasn’t quite what I would have predicted. Egotistical, yes; petulant, yes; wild, yes; witty, not so much. Despite inevitable protestations that I’m reading too much into it, I really think there are some telling indicators of the production’s trajectory woven into this casting notice.

Standing somebody who is taller than six feet next to the typical Hollywood leading man truly would create a giant. I hope they do cast short for the other parts.

Now… bring on the casting details for Loki.

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New Comics Shipping For The Week Of 2/11/2009

BATMAN #686
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #10
DOC SAVAGE LOST RADIO SCRIPTS OF LESTER DENT SC
MIRRORS EDGE #4 (OF 6)
STEEL FIST RIKU VOL 03
THOR #600
WALKING DEAD #58
X-MEN ORIGINS SABRETOOTH

Stan Lee talks Thor #600

The patron saint of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, has spoken with the House of Ideas regarding his story in the landmark 600th issue of Thor!

Explaining his inclusion in the project, Lee replied that Thor editor Warren Simons gave him a call and asked “if I’d write a story for THOR #600. How can you say no to something like that? I guess all the other writers were busy,” he laughed.

When asked about the longevity of the character, Stan replied:

He’s a great character. And again, the way Kirby drew him he’s unforgettable. He just looks so heroic and the other characters are so colorful. And of course you have Loki, the villain. I mean one of the most important things for any super hero is to have a great super villain, and how do you do better than Loki.

This incarnation of Thor was created by Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. Meanwhile, in Thor #600, Stan will be teaming up with superstar artist David Aja to examine Thor’s temptation to go back to a simple mortal life.

Source: Newsarama

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