Corona | Coming Attractions

According to Deadline Hollywood Daily Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has been cast as the Odin son Thor.

"Chris had read for the part of Thor but wasn't given a test because a casting director had nixed him early on," writes DHD's Nikki Finke. "I'm told Chris' younger brother Liam (who's also a ROAR client) then tested for the role of Thor, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige passed. Then, after a conversation with Ward ('You've got to reconsider Chris, he's your guy'), Feige decided to let Chris read again. And once Marvel put him on tape, it was 'Oh my god'."

Hemsworth is currently filming Cabin in the Woods and has a small but vital role in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, now in theaters.

While speaking to IGN in an exclusive interview, Thor director Kenneth Branagh told the site that he was knee-deep in "intense pre-production" on his superhero film and is looking to start filming in January 2010. Branagh also revealed a hithero unrevealed piece of information that he's spoken with his co-star Tom Hiddleston from Wallander about taking a part in Thor. "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," Branagh said.

Another person who knows what's happening with Thor is Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige. Speaking with Empire magazine, Feige said "But [director Kenneth] Branagh’s here, we’re prepping, and he’s put together some spectacular animatics already for our first action scene. We're digging into the second and third now, and we are just embarking on a rewrite of the draft."

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Natalie Portman is being considered for the part of the female lead in Thor. But does that mean Portman could be playing the Enchantress, the seductive and evil sorceress from the Thor comic books? The site doesn't elaborate if the film's "female lead" is the Enchantress, someone else from the Norse god's realm or a Earthly-bound woman.

Among with four other Marvel movies, the release date for Marvel's Thor movie has changed from July 16, 2010 to June 17, 2011. "This new schedule strongly sequences Marvel's movie debut dates, big screen character introductions and momentum," said David Maisel, the chairman of the company. "It maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character The Avengers film in 2012." More importantly for Thor director Kenneth Branagh, it gives him an additional 11 months in which to work on the movie.

Our second Thor casting story of the day comes from the plugged in folks at IESB. Following up on Latino Review's earlier piece about who's being eyed for the role of Thor, IESB breaks word that there is also a frontrunner for the part of Loki, the god of mischief in the Norse mythology and Thor's brother. According to the site Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down, 30 Days of Night) has met with Kenneth Branagh and is on a "very short list" of candidates to play Loki in the film.

A scooper for Latino Review wrote in to say that they saw Thor director Kenneth Branagh having a lunch meeting with Alexander Skarsgård, the actor who appears on HBO's True Blood and Generation Kill series, at an L.A. restaurant. Putting two and two together, the scooper figured that the six-foot-four, blonde-haired Skarsgård is probably meeting with Branagh to discuss his possible involvement in the Thor movie.

The Review dudes did some follow-up work and confirmed through another way that Branagh did eat at the restaurant in question. The site also makes note that both Skarsgård and Branagh are repped by the same talent agency, and talent agencies love it when they can "package" together multiple clients in a project. The math adds up.

Skarsgård has been in the running with True Blood fans to be a contender for Thor. Message board chatter on HBO's True Blood forum proves that he's caught the eye of some who think he's got the looks to play the Norse god of thunder.

Samuel L. Jackson has signed a deal that will see him play Nick Fury in nine more Marvel movies. While no definite plans were revealed at the time for Jackson to star in Thor, it's now a very real possibility that his character will make an appearance considering that Thor is currently being included in The Avengers movie in development. [Full story]

Thanks to one of our longtime scoopers, Coming Attractions has been given the casting call notice for the one and only Thor. What you're about to read is the physical and personality traits of what the movie's producers are looking for in their leading man. This information comes directly from the production and it provides an insight into what Branagh and the producers want to see in the actor that plays the Norse god of thunder.

Male MUST BE MID-LATE 20'S and SIX FEET OR TALLER. LEAD.

Physically powerful, very handsome, occasionally egotistical, petulant, and wild. A natural warrior with a quick charming wit who must be genuinely and severely humbled before becoming the compassionate, mature hero of our film.

The start date of filming is given as July and the wrap is September.

According to the IESB there has been a recent rewrite to the Thor screenplay that addresses how Marvel wants to ground some realism into its fantasy superhero universe. As you may recall, the mighty Thor is one of the characters slated to join in the live-action Avengers movie which is slated for release one year after the Norse god's movie hits theater screens. As Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. told MTV, "The danger you run with colliding all these worlds is [director] Jon [Favreau] was very certain that Iron Man should be set in a very realistic world. Nothing that happened in Iron Man is really outside the realm of possibility. Once you start talking about Valhalla and supersized super soldiers and jolly green giants it warrants much further discussion."

In other words, Iron Man is a superhero grounded in high tech, something that requires less of a leap of faith to believe could be possible rather than accepting a scientist irradiated with gamma radiation could turn into a 12-foot-tall green behemoth or that a Norse god of thunder actually exists and fights crime in our modern day world.

Bearing all of this in mind let's get back to the IESB report.

While talking about his next acting role in Valkyrie, Kenneth Branagh was asked how things are pulling together on his Thor movie. MTV's Splash Page got Branagh's quotes up first so we're running with what they had to say.

Why he's directing the picture: "To work on a story about one of the immortals, Gods, extraordinary beings, inter-dimensional creatures...It’s a chance to tell a big story on a big scale...It’s a human story right in the center of a big epic scenario."

What the movie's story will be: "There’s science fiction and science fact and fantasy all woven into one. It’s based on Norse legends which Marvel sort of raided in a brilliant way."

Who will play Thor: "“There’s been lots of talk [about casting] — I sound like a politician — but we are too early at this stage. We’re getting the story and the visual effects together and all of that is very exciting. Someone sensational is going to play the part but it is early days."

While attending the premiere for Punisher: War Zone, Kevin McKidd told IGN that he was in fact still up for consideration for the lead part in this film. The former Rome star told the website that there had been "a lot of back and forth" but he was still in the running and as far as he knew no decision had been reached.

Kenneth Branagh is in discussions to direct the live-action Thor movie for Marvel Studios. If the deal goes through Thor will be Branagh's biggest budgeted picture to date. The actor/director, who is best known for his many film adaptations of William Shakespeare plays, also directed 1994's Frankenstein and a recent remake of the thriller Sleuth.

Shortly after the news concerning Branagh's talks with Marvel Studios broke in the trades Paramount Pictures issued a press release stating that it had brokered an agreement with Marvel to distribute the company's next five self-financed movies including Thor. "Marvel's iconic brand, its popular characters and its proven ability to create compelling and visually spellbinding films complement Paramount's great history of filmmaking," said Rob Moore, the studio's Vice Chairman. "We look forward to a long and successful run together."