The big-screen adaptation of Marvel’s Thor keeps on making headlines, as today we have news of another choice actor being added to the already impressive cast, as well as unofficial first reports from the Thor set being tweet by some top names over at Marvel.
First the casting news: Thor has added British actor Idris Elba (The Wire, The Office) to the lineup. Elba has reportedly been cast as Heimdall (see pic above), the guardian of the Norse gods who watches over the BiFrost Bridge, a mystical bridge that serves as the link between the realms of Asgard (god-world) and Midgard (Earth).
I love Idris Elba, so this is good news for me and considering that the man is a fast-rising star in the industry, the name/face recognition can only be good for Thor. It seems as though Elba is also trying to stack some serious fanboy cred – the actor is also currently starring in an adaption of DC Comics’ The Losers, alongside Jeffery Dean Morgan (Watchmen) and Zoe Saldana (Avatar). Smart career moves…
With Thor, Elba joins a cast that already includes Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson and Tadanobu Asano as The Warriors Three, Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) as Thor, Natalie Portman as Thor’s human love interest, Jane Foster, Anthony Hopkins as Thor’s father, Odin, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Jamie Alexander as Asgardian warrior/love interest, Sif and Tom Hiddleston as Thor’s half-brother/nemesis, Loki.
This cast is almost scary good. Speaks to the level of respect held for Branagh, no doubt.
Speaking of which, Marvel’s Joe Quesada (Editor-In-Chief) and Brian Michael Bendis (Writer, New Avengers) have been letting tweets fly about just how awesome Thor is shaping up to be.
From Quesada’s Twitter page:
I could listen to Branagh talk about Thor all day long. Cast is in place, sets are being built and screenplay is brilliant. Marveldom rules!
And from Bendis’ Twitter page:
Thor movie meeting with Ken branagh was over the top amazing. Visited the sets! I was in Odin’s chamber!…U should get in line for the Thor movie today. Just saying.
Ok so it’s not much of an “official” set report, but it’s pretty freaking cool, nonetheless. Bendis also had this to say to G4 back in October:
“’Thor’ is an extravaganza…The artwork is unbelievable… They flew us all here because Kenneth Branagh wanted to tell us his ‘Thor’ movie and he pitched it live. It was Shakespearean and went on for hours.”
“He wasn’t high-selling it…He is an actor and he just sold it. I looked to Joe [Quesada] and went ‘Isn’t this fun?’ When he was done, we were like ‘Great! You should do that!’
At this point, considering the cast, the praise from the people who would know and the level of prestige attached to his filmography, I can only deduce that Kenneth Branagh is going to truly do something EPIC with Thor. Can’t wait.
How do you feel about Idris Elba being added to the cast (let the “black Norse god” jokes commence…)? How about the first geekgasms from the set?
Thor thunders into theaters on May 20, 2011.
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