Courtesy of a Nikki Finke exclusive, it seems Marvel has its Thor. Just days after Kenneth Branagh talked about Thor casting delays, the word is Chris Hemsworth will wield the mighty Mjolnir. That’s right, Captain Kirk’s dad in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot is now Marvel’s God of Thunder.
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Hemsworth has had a whirlwind of a month: he was captain of a starship for 12 minutes just last week, cast as the lead in Red Dawn on Thursday, and the 25-year-old Aussie was doing an Australian TV series just last November. After 171 episodes of being “Kim Hyde” on Home and Away, he’s getting his big break with Thor - but it took two reads for him to be chosen as Odin’s son.
Finke reports Hemsworth had read for the part before but “wasn’t given a test because a casting director had nixed him early on.” Apparently his younger brother tested for the role too, but Marvel passed. William Ward, Hemsworth’s rep and partner/founder at ROAR Management, then convinced Marvel’s executive Kevin Feige to reconsider. They let Hemsworth read again and it sure sounded like director Kenneth Branagh had a choice in mind 3 days ago, but the final decision was made today.
With Asgard as the stage, Hemsworth better brush up on his Olde English and bulk-up his body, because Thor’s winged helmet isn’t anything like that feather-weight uniform handed out by the United Federation. Marvel bringing Branagh on to helm Thor was pretty ballsy, but casting a relative-unknown to be the Norse God? Marvel might have hit it’s 2011 blockbuster hat trick.
Thor is scheduled to begin production next January with a May 20, 2011 release.
The announcement of Chris Hemsworth puts to rest months and months of speculation about who would play Thor. Do you think Hemsworth can handle the magic hammer?
Source: Nikki Finke
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97 Comments
@ Darthmalnu
IDK, I think he either was an addict or genuinely mixed up his pill combination and it was a total accident that had horrible results. Too bad we’ll never know 100% for sure. I think more people than we think actually agree with that, they just don’t want to talk about it because it was a sad thing that he had to die at 28 and no one wants to say anything bad about him.
I think this will work. He is 6′3″ and should be able to bulk up a good bit before they start shooting (hell, look at Hugh Jackman as Wolverine or even RDJ in Iron Man). They could have done better, but they also could have done much, much worse…
@Marshall, I know that last comment is referring to this pick for Thor, but just speaking about RDJ, after seeing him as Tony Stark, it’s hard to imagine anyone being better for the role…
I TRUST IN BRANNAGH, HE’LL DO WITH THOR WHAT FAVREAU DID WITH IRON MAN…PERFECT CHOICE, YOU DONT WANT A WELL KNOWN ANYWAY..NO NAMES ARE BEST,WHERE DO THE BIG NAMES COME FROM? WHEN NO NAMES BREAK OUT.THIS GUY WILL BE AN AWSOME THOR..AND PLEASE NO DONALD BLAKE..JUST KEEP HIM THOR AND START IT ALL IN ASGARD, MAYBE INTRO EARTH AT THE END OF THE MOVIE…
Thank you Matt K. for telling me. I did not know that. Iron Knight, I understand now and I agree with you. I, too was hoping to hear the name Skarsgard.
I am assuming with this taking place in Asgard, this was a pure Thor casting, nothing with Blake. I would guess that the end of the movie will have Odin banishing Thor to earth and thats when Blake will show up, just so they can tie it into Iron Man at that point…..that is unless they go with the Ultimates version to tie into Iron Man, then there is no need for a Donald Blake.
Look at the Ultimate Avengers movie, it had all the players that are going to be in the Live Action Avengers film, maybe they are going that route with it?
I think this could be a very good choice though, I mean we have all been pleasantly surprised with some of the odd casting choices as of late, most notable being Heath obviously, but even Schreiber as Sabretooth had a lot of people complaining and I think he is the best part of the Wolverine movie (he nailed Creed).
Um… uh… ok? -Stark
The Ultimate or “Hippie” Thor may be a more feasible movie script, but I’m not a big Ultimates fan so I’m hoping they don’t go that route.
Still, I’ll see the movie either way. And I certainly hope Hemsworth WON’T use steroids as a last resort… yeesh. Take a lesson from the wrestler that killed his family, folks.
GET THE HGH READY! still cant believe Kevin mckidd did not get this role….
@Bessie – Clearly missing my point if you think Hugh Jackman is in any way whatsoever similar to the “Swedish beefcake”-looking type/s I was referring to. In fact… correct me if I’m wrong… but Hugh Jackman has far, faaaaaar more in common with Chris Hemsworth in terms of background and general physical appearance. Or maybe you aren’t quite sure what “Swedish beefcake”-looking actually means.
Think Dolph Lundgren…
I thought he played a great Captain Kirks father! But was floored when i heard he would be the new Thor. So is he going to wear a wig or hair extensions?? I know that he’s in good shape as it showed him doing Muay-tai (sp) as part of his training regiment before doing Star Trek. I wonder what kind of accent he will use as Thor?
I am ok with whom they picked for Loki.
really, this guy weighs close to nothing compared to the Thor comics Marvel produced from years ago. I remember reading those comics and thinking this guy is enormous. How am I supposed to feel the same way about George Kirk?!?!?!?
So, would you rather them have a completely CGI thor since that is about the only way to have one that matches the size of the one in the comics??
no, i meant that Chris is just too small to portray such a huge character. They could find someone a little bigger in mass, i think that Triple H would be the perfect idea of the kind of mass to be Thor, but, Triple H is one of the worst actors/wrestlers I have ever seen.
Oh god, here we go. So you’re another one that thinks we should sacrifice acting for bulk. Yah, maybe pro wrestlers should play EVERY comic book character and we won’t need to worry about the movie actually being good or anything, maybe they’ll start doing wrestling moves to the villain half way through the movie…
no man, you’ve got it all wrong, i hate wrestlers all together, even more in films. but, i merely suggested an unknown actor, (up-and-coming), with a body to play the part.
@Marshall, I know that last comment is referring to this pick for Thor, but just speaking about RDJ, after seeing him as Tony Stark, it’s hard to imagine anyone being better for the role…
(an earlier quote from Ken J.)
couldn’t agree more.
Ok, sorry, I jumped the gun, there have been so many people suggesting wrestlers for Thor in so many forums, I read up to the part where you mention Triple H and didn’t read the rest, sorry dude, lol.
no problem, i agree that people want the person playing the character over the overall outcome of the film. but, that is what happens when people have the notions of a wrestlers body being the best thing there is.
Give him time, he has almost a year before filming starts to bulk up. He has the face, voice, and height for the part. I saw Star Trek again, and one of the things I made sure I focused on was how tall he was, and holy crap this guy is huge… I never realized before but when you see him walking next to the previous Cpt. of the USS Kelvin, he TOWERS over him… Unless that guy was just short, but I don’t think he was THAT short…
For a while, people have been suggesting Triple H. He had a viking-like photo shoot that didn’t help matters but that’s all past us now. I just hope Hemsworth can get to a believable bulk because Thor is huge.
Remember how up-in-arms most when Brandon Routh donned the red cape? I fear the same thing for the God of Thunder.
I wanted a realy tuff guy like a blond wrestler (the Rock did it) possibly from normandy ah well
Chris is a gym rat, I think that he will do just fine.
Yah wadepool, unfortunately we got someone who might actually know how to act, oh well.
According to IMDB he’s 6 foot 3, so pretty tall!
I agree this Thor is very small in mass but I think that he will come out just fine…to have a thor like the one in the comics would mean that we would have to use cgi most likely or cast a wwe wrestler who cant act. If production starts in January the guy has plenty of time to bulk up; and im a gym guy with the proper supplemnts, diet, and work out you can add 30-40 pds of muscle mass in 6 months…im sure they will ahving hit the gym up hard to get more pumped for the role….I DO liek teh choice, I thought he did a good job in what time he had in Star Trek and I could see this panning out for him…as for the movie, I am not all taht excited, so what its thor who cares…im sure ill see it and if teh movie ends up being good enough maybe i will start to care tahn but as of now im just bla on this whole project
Hey gang,
Keep an eye out – I’m not sure when exactly but we have a SWEET Thor giveaway coming soon.
Hints: Very limited edition, value over $200.
Vic
wow, what’s with all the cardio geeks being cast as superhero’s these days. I know chicks in my gym with bigger guns than this guy, and he’s supposed to be a god? I think they really missed the boat on this. I hear they are trying to do a Conan remake, they are considering Sasha Baron Cohen for the lead… or maybe George Clooney, I heard his guns are beefed up to a whopping 14 inches. That clearly meets their criteria for physical presence of a superhero. Or they can do what they did for batman (Christian Bale) and spiderman. Draw the crowds by having the actors get in incredible shape for the first movie, and then let them be pathetically skinny (Christian Bale) or soft (Toby Maguire) for the sequils.
Baby face. He has a baby face. I don’t like it. Punch it.
i thot triple HHH would be best as thor
Yah mal0, unfortunately they got someone who might know how to act instead, dag nabbit…
Besides that Triple H isn’t even an actor…hes a wrestler and should stick to wrestling leave the acting roles to ACTORS.
What on Asgard?! Tell me this isn’t so! On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I give this guy a 1.5! NO to the Nth power! Why choose him? Because he kinda has a Thor-like appearance? Thor is a god and a tough rugged, ripped one at that! Isn’t anyone looking at the big picture here? The finale? The AVENGERS? I do not see the continuity within. Especially with this actor. Somebody slap me and tell me I am dreaming…I cannot believe that so many are actually accepting this choice. I just don’t see it…AT ALL! Since when did Thor become a babe? We need an attitude provoking, fear instilling, hunk of scare the sense out-of-you THOR! Maybe it’s just me. Maybe. I cannot see this guy next to Captain America, or Iron Man for that matter, and being overpowering. As Thor SHOULD BE. HAS TO BE. Wake me up when it’s over. As a looong time Avengers collector and true fanboy, I am uncertain as to how this is going to work out. Now, I want the BEST Avengers movie possible, and I don’t think this guy cuts it. There is a screw loose somewhere. I will check mine and make another judgement over time…for now….UGH! Avengers Assemble! ~please? I better start believing in this “movie-magic” mentality. Do I hear anyone else screaming HELP?
Its called acting, if he can act the part its all good. On the looks, just let him bulk up more, grow and die his hair blond, and he’s already freaken 6,3. Just give the guy a chance. What I’m worrying about is the plot plus the director does not seem he has directed any big big movies yet. However, I think its gonna be good cause they on a role with Ironman and the hulk so far.
Some people would rather have someone who just looks good for the part than someone who can act the part. Unfortunately this isn’t a calendar photo shoot, it’s a movie, where we see and hear their acting…
I am really looking forward to this movie but Thor has to be big, strong and a good actor. and cute (hey…don’t look at my post like that. You guys have Megan Fox). I want to sit in my seat and drool. Sorry but this guy doesn’t do it for me.
@ Ironman2you- who would you pick?
TOO YOUNG… TOO AMERICAN.
Thor with him as lead would be a joke.
@Tweeb
Actually, seeing Megan Fox in any movie I’m watching makes me nervous because it’s a sign that it will suck…
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