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Friday
01May2009

Kenneth Branagh to Shoot 'Thor' Next January

DateFriday, May 1, 2009 at 10:52AM
You've got to be rooting for Kenneth Branagh. Through no real fault of his own, the esteemed writer-director-actor fell out of favor with audiences when he made a very bad Frankenstein movie on the heels of tremendous success on the Shakespeare front. And he's never really found his way back, for reasons I can't quite figure.

Marvel sees something in Branagh it really likes, giving him the reins to Thor. One problem: It's Thor. To this point, it's probably the most difficult comic book character DC or Marvel has tried to spin into a movie barring Galactus, who kind of made an appearance in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. That was a trainwreck, and Thor certainly has that potential, too.

Within the last couple of months, Marvel shook up its release schedule, giving Branagh more time to work on Thor. He tells IGN that he's in "intense pre-production" on the project, and gives an ETA on when filming might begin.

"I shoot Thor in January of next year and because the time of release has been moved, it's allowed me to have a moment in the summer where I can shoot the Wallanders," Branagh says. What's Wallander? It's a series of BBC telepics in which he co-stars with Tom Hiddleston, who - curiously enough - is one of the young actors linked to the part of Thor.

See how it all fits together?

But it's not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination: "Tom Hiddleston is a great actor and he, amongst a number of others, has been part of the group we've spoken to and all that's still a work in progress," the director admits.

Thor is the hardest Marvel movie to conceptualize because of where it takes place, likely splitting the action between Earth and the otherworldly Asgard, described as a "sea of space." Beyond that, there's the casting of the character, which is very problematic. If Branagh pulls it off, it'll be quite a feat.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment1 Comment |

Reader Comments (1)

I love Branagh but this movie is going to be an epic disaster of the original Captain America proportions... can't wait to see it.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterPeter

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