Kenneth Branagh in Talks to Direct 'Thor'

A new name has surfaced in Marvel Studios' search for a Thor director. And yes, I had to read it twice, too. Kenneth Branagh, perhaps the world's best Shakespearean film actor and director, is in negotiations to direct Thor, which will be released in 2010. Variety says that Marvel big cheese Kevin Feige has zeroed in on Branagh despite the director's lack of action film experience. Henry V, Branagh's debut feature, is the only thing that could even come close to matching the kind of over-the-top comic book action we'll see in Thor. I would be happy for Branagh, even though this isn't really the kind of movie you expect to see him do. An incredibly talented guy, Branagh has nevertheless been mired in a professional funk for a while, really since his audacious production of Hamlet back in 1996. Having said that, I had doubts about Thor as a film property going in. It's a tough, tough alter ego story to create and execute believably, but I think bringing aboard a director who has so much insight into dramatic story structure could mean a really doozy of an origin story for Thor, even if we may not get the visual feast we'd expect. Should the Branagh negotiations end with a contract, then the next step is finding a Thor. That's an equally difficult task, in my opinion. I wouldn't even know any front-runners at this point, but if you're over six feet tall, I think you have a much better chance than if you're not.