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Branagh to integrate other Marvel heroes into Thor?

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The first feature film for Marvel’s resident norse god Thor has been in the news a lot lately, as it has been picking up speed on it’s way to beginning production.  There was the news that Natalie Portman has been cast as a female lead in the film, as a currently un-named character (most believe Portman will pla  Enchantress, an Asgardian goddess who served as Thor’s ally, advisor and sometime lover).   If Enchantress does appear in the film, with or without Portman, there’s a pretty good chance that there will be a twist that involves the script’s villain (and Thor’s brother) Loki.  But I won’t give that away.  There has been rumors that Branagh has a front runner for the role of the main villain of the film, Thor’s brother Loki.  Josh Hartnett is rumored to be the favorite for the part.  There has even been word that they have been trying out actors for the lead role, with the frontrunner now being Charlie Hunnam.  Now, I find that interesting because (as all you long-time and dedicated MovieGuys fans will know) I pegged Hunnam as the man to play Thor months ago.  You can read all about that here.  The latest bit of news is that Marvel studios exec’s are excited about Branagh’s passion for Marvel universe, as they believe this will mean Thor will feature nods to (if not appearances by) other Marvel film characters, including Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America.  This will ultimately lead to a slot for Thor in Marvel’s previously announced epic hero team up flick The Avengers.  All of this news is surely enough to make fanboys and comic book enthusiasts alike drool all over themselves.

Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada recently spoke with MTV News about Thor director Kenneth Branagh, in an interview where all this speculation began:  “Branagh understood that there was this very, very big tapestry of the Marvel movies. There’s continuity within the movies and he really wanted to play within that and wanted it to be part of the other movies.  He was really, really loving the interconnectivity between all of these characters and even thinking ahead as to how does Thor interrelate with the Iron Man movies.  How will he interrelate with the  The Avengers movies, and how do we set these things up.” 

Excuse me while I take a second to wipe the drool off my chin… I am now thoroughly convinced that not only will Thor be a bad ass movie (maybe not a box-office smash though), but that Marvel is now light years ahead of DC in terms of development of their properties into an integrated film universe.  This is what comic book fans have dreamed of for years.  Image the possibilities:  Iron Man fighting a rampaging Hulk with the hulk-buster armor in IM4, Wolverine (when FOX finally loses rights to the character) appearing in The Avengers 2, Moon Knight and Tigra’s romance on the big screen, Hawkeye and Captain America…  I personally can’t wait until Marvel regains the rights to ALL of their properties, and believe me, it WILL happen.  It has to happen.  Oh, will that day be sweet…

  • JD

    Jon, I know you’re a big Thor Fan, but I’ll need to wait until I can see a preview for a Thor film, before I get excited. Yes I have a lot of faith in Branagh to make a good film, but Thor is a tough sell for me.

    Now I agree with you on the fact that these films should have been looked at from the start as an intertwining universe of characters instead of how they were handled. The only issue I see is the time it takes to make each one of these films is going to either cause the actors to get burned out or for the studio to find “creative” ways to replace main actors because of age, salary, etc….mainly age. I mean we all heard, if not made jokes about “Indy” getting out of the “home” to go on another adventure. What do you think Downey Jr is going to look like by the time we even get to the filming of Iron Man 4 or the Avenger movie. I guess they could start pumping them out, (like Bay is trying to do with Transformers), but I don’t see it working that well for “good flowing” movies and stories. Though I could be wrong and hope I am.

  • Jon Stephens

    Actually JD, I’m not a big Thor fan at all. I have been reporting on it lately because it has been ramping up lately, and there has been a lot of news to report lately.

    I’m talking about “big picture” possibilities. Not so much that Thor will deliver a massive success, though I think it will be good along the lines of Norton’s Incredible Hulk film, but more of the beginning of a comic geek’s wet dream. I think Thor will kick ass for me, but I’m not ready to say all non-comic fans or even the comic lightweights will enjoy it. We need to see a trailer first. But I’m going to freakin enjoy it, big time. The potential is there for there to be some awesome inter-weaving there. I don’t plan on the original actors sticking around for film’s 4,5, and 6. They’ll be re-cast, and I believe that as long as the stories are good and the actors fit character descriptions, it’ll be fine. Remember, everyone chatted about Ledger replacing Nicholson’s giant shoes, but no one is saying that shit now. Cast good actors, write a good story, and you can inter-weave Marvel characters through a bunch of different movies for years and years. That’s the best case scenario.

    It could always go horribly wrong. It could always end up being pure garbage. But the fact that they are trying, and their past films have proven they take time to do the character it’s due justice, all of these things are good signs. Things always change, but I don’t think anyone could argue over the potential there.

    I’m getting the impression that you are a comic guy JD. Maybe you side with just one character, or a couple characters, but you seem to have knowledge and passion about comics. So I definitely respect your opinions on all things comic related.

  • JD

    Thanks Jon,

    I haven’t read any new books in quite a while. I read just about all the “Bat-Books” that were out along with some Punisher, Spawn, Tales of the Jedi, and a handful of other DC & Image comics. Looking back there are books with much better characters and stories that I should have been reading, but oh well.

    The guys that I ran around with, including Kurt who is now one of our M4N cast members, all know a heck of a lot about a ton of books and are still reading so that is how I gained most of my knowledge and respect for different characters and such.

    After thinking about it, (like you said) re-casts shouldn’t be that big of deal as long as the story is good. We comic geeks could think of it as a new artist “drawing” the character. Kelley Jones Batman doesn’t look anything like Frank Miller’s Batman, so that is how I’m going to start looking at it.

  • I don’t know much about Thor, but I am a big fan of Branagh work, regardless if he is directing or acting, thats my main interest in this project, and I believe he does his homework, so he will bring jsutice to Thor. I have Faith in the guy.

  • Jon Stephens

    You know, I’ve thought of recasting stars after the trilogy ends… And you are dead on JD. We need to think of it as a new artist doing a new take on a classic character. It happens all the time. I’d never thought of it that way before. Maybe thinking that way will help justify the hideous new take on Deadpool in Wolverine’s film…

    Branagh has done a lot of research on this project Metallicat. He’ll do fine. The guy is a damn good director

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