Marvel Studios expands its film universe with a new type of superhero: THOR. This epic adventure spans the Marvel Universe; from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth. Kenneth Branagh directs this fantasy epic which stars Australian actor Chris Hemsworth as the ancient Norse god, Tom Hiddleston as his evil brother Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, a young woman who befriends Thor on Earth, and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor's father and king of Asgard. Expect to see agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., previously seen in ''Iron Man,'' to make an appearance, further foreshadowing the coming of The Avengers!
Hopefully by the latter half of this year we will have a much better outlook and idea concerning some of the finer points of this marvel movie project. For now, I can also offer up a list of the current cast that has been working on the project:
Director - Kenneth Branagh
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Natalie Portman - Jane Foster
Stellan Skarsgard - Professor andrews
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Ray Stevenson - Volstagg
Anthony Hopkins - Odin
Idris Elba - Heimdall
Rene Russo - Frigga
Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Jaimie Alexander - Sif
Clark Gregg - Agent Coulson
Admittedly, knowing the names in the cast does help to build up the anticipation for this movie somewhat - especially seeing as how I don't really have any problems with the principle casting. Obviously the inclusion of Gregg reprising his Agent Coulson character from the previous two Iron Man movies should help to tie this movie into the Marvel movie tapestry or framework that it has been carefully weaving or constructing over the past few years. I don't think that any minor tweaking of the comic source material for the sake of the movie is aconcern for me, such as the casting of a black actor (Elba) in the role of a Caucasian character in the comic book (Heimdall). Hopefully any potential future concerns expressed by Thor fans over this movie adaption stay as superficial as this. Time will tell.
