Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Thor

7/21/10 - New image from Comic Con.

1/7/10 - With Sony's Spider-Man 4 on hold and crew encouraged to find other work, Variety is reporting that Paramount and Marvel Entertainment have pushed up the release of Thor by two weeks, to May 6, 2011.

12/17/09 - Variety reported that Rene Russo has joined the cast of Thor, with the actress set to play Frigga, the mother of Marvel Entertainment's hammer-wielding Norse hero. Kenneth Branagh is helming the actioner that starts filming in January and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Paramount will release the film on May 20, 2011.

11/25/09 - Kat Dennings has joined the cast of Thor, the Marvel Studios production that begins production in January, according to Variety.  Dennings will play Darcy, who works with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster character. Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston have been cast, with Kenneth Branagh directing. Thor, scripted by Mark Protosevich, Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, centers on a partly disabled med student who discovers his Norse god alter ego, the hammer-swinging Thor. Paramount will release the film on May 20, 2011.

11/20/09 - Idris Elba has joined the cast of Thor, Marvel Studios' film centering on the Norse god of thunder.  Kenneth Branagh is directing the adaptation of the Marvel comic. Chris Hemsworth will star as Thor; Tom Hiddleston will play Loki, and Natalie Portman is the love interest, Jane Foster.  Elba will play Heimdall, who, as the guardian of Asgard, stands on the BiFrost Bridge ready to defend the city from intruders.

11/17/09 - Thor helmer Kenneth Branagh has locked Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson, and Tadanobu Asano to play Warrior’s Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god in the Marvel Entertainment drama, according to Variety.  Townsend plays Fandral, a character which was drawn in the comic book series based on Errol Flynn and his movies. Stevenson plays Volstagg the Valiant, a hard-living brawler, a character inspired by Falstaff. Asano plays Hogun the Grim, the third warrior and traveling companion of the hammer-swinging Thor, who is played by Chris Hemsworth.  Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman also star in the film scripted by Mark Protosevich and Zack Stentz. Paramount Pictures releases the film May 20, 2011.

10/30/09 - Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to play the Norse god Odin in "Thor," Marvel Studios' big-screen adaptation being directed by Kenneth Branagh.  In the movie Thor, the god of thunder, is a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans. Once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends dark forces from Asgard to invade Earth.  Odin is Thor's father and ruler of Asgard.  Chris Hemsworth is playing Thor. The cast also includes Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman.

10/7/09 - Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean) will join the cast of Marvel Studios' Thor, along with Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore and Samuel L. Jackson. Paramount will release the Kenneth Branagh-directed feature on May 20, 2011.

9/23/09 - Jaimie Alexander and Colm Feore have joined the cast of Thor, based on the Marvel Comics franchise, joining Chris Hemsworth in the Kenneth Branagh-directed movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Hemsworth will play the Norse god. Tom Hiddleston plays Loki, the god of mischief, who serves as the movie's villain, and Natalie Portman is Thor's human love, Jane Foster.  In Marvel's epic fantasy, Alexander is playing Sif, a skilled Asgardian warrior who can hold her own against any man. She also is one of Thor's loves.  Feore's character is shrouded in mystery—the studio isn't even sending the actors the script—though it is known to be a villain.  The movie's story centers on Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans. Once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends dark forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

7/14/09 - Natalie Portman is reportedly joining the cast of Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Marvel's Thor opposite Chris Hemsworth.  The Hollywood Reporter reported Portman has been cast to star as Jane Foster, who in early comic-book lore was a nurse who became Thor's first love. The studio said the character will be updated for the feature adaptation.  Chris Hemsworth is already cast as Thor. Tom Hiddleston is Loki, the god of mischief who serves as the movie's villain.  Principal photography for the film is set for early 2010. The film will be released in the U.S. on May 20, 2011, distributed by Paramount Pictures.  The casting of Portman calls into question earlier reports that the movie would be set almost entirely in the supernatural world of Thor and the Norse gods.

5/18/09 - Deadline Hollywood reported that Star Trek's Chris Hemsworth has won the title role in Kenneth Branagh's Thor, with the approval of Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige.  Hemsworth—who played James Kirk's father, George, in J.J. Abrams' hit Trek—has also been cast in the lead role of Jed Eckert in director Dan Bradley's Red Dawn remake, taking the role that Patrick Swayze played in the original. He will do that film before taking on Thor.  Red Dawn is eyeing a Sept. 24, 2010, release; Thor is slated for a May 20, 2011, release.

5/6/09 - Kevin Feige, the president of production at Marvel Studios, spelled out when we can expect to hear further details about upcoming Marvel films such as Thor and The Avengers.  "We will probably be having cast announcements in the next month or so on Thor," Feige said. "We're looking to cast Loki and Odin soon, and the main female role. And we'll also hopefully have lockdown shortly, gearing towards the beginning of production, which will be early next year. So I think there will be a lot of announcements between now and then.  But 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."  As for The Avengers, Feige added that "Zak Penn is already on board The Avengers, and he's spending a lot of his time looking into what we're doing with Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, seeing how we're tying it all together. And he's beginning to outline the script now—he'll be doing that over the summer."

4/23/09 - Charlie Hunnam confirmed to IGN that he has screen-tested for the title role in Kenneth Branagh's upcoming Thor.  Hunnam told the site that he has only shot one screen test so far. Asked if it involved running around with a helmet and a hammer, he replied with a smile, "Something like that."  Hunnam added that he believes that since Marvel pushed the start date of Thor back a few months, the studio is taking its time to make the best decision for the film.

3/17/09 - Paramount has moved the release of Marvel Entertainment's Thor for the second time in less than a week, to May 20, 2011, from June 17, 2011.

2/20/09 - A new casting call has gone out for Thor, the adaptation of the Marvel comic to be directed by Kenneth Branagh.  The casting call throws into question the reported casting of Kevin McKidd, who was previously in talks to play the title god of thunder.  The producers are seeking a male actor described as "mid-late 20s, 6 feet tall or taller" and "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.

1/6/09 - Insider sources involved with Marvel Studios' upcoming comic book movie Thor, have revealed a major plot point to IESB.net.  How do you put a mythological character, wielding a magic hammer, alongside technological and science-based characters like Iron Man?  Introduce Doctor Donald Blake into the mix.  The good Doctor Blake will make a quick cameo at the end of the Thor movie.  Dr. Blake was the original host for Thor in the comic books. As a man existing in the "real world," he discovers mighty Mjolnir (The hammer of Thor) in a mountain cave and becomes possessed with the god's mythological power.  While this explanation may not completely smooth out all the fantastical wrinkles, at least it provides a reason for why a long-haired dude with a hammer is flying alongside rocket-powered Iron Man.

12/15/08 - Kenneth Branagh confirmed to MTV.com that he'll be helming a film version of Marvel Comics' Thor.  Branagh welcomed the chance "To work on a story about one of the immortals, Gods, extraordinary beings, inter-dimensional creatures," he told the site.  "There's science fiction and science fact and fantasy all woven into one," Branagh added. "It's based on Norse legends, which Marvel sort of raided in a brilliant way."  Branagh also dismissed early speculation about who might take on the role of the Norse god.

10/23/08 – SCI FI Wire reported that Marvel Studios did indeed offer Daniel Craig the role of Thor in a movie about the Norse god/superhero, but he definitively turned it down. The actor, who also plays James Bond, thought it would be too egotistical to play another man of action.  "I'm not doing it. I said no," Craig said. "They spoke about it, but I just thought, 'I can't play Bond and Thor.' What am I, on some stupid f--king power trip? I can't imagine blond hair and a big hammer."

9/29/08 - Kenneth Branagh surprised onlookers by entering talks to direct Thor, a superhero movie and the next Marvel Comics property to be adapted as a live-action feature by Marvel Studios, Variety reported. The movie will be released in 2010.  Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige's choice of Branagh is surprising, as Branagh hasn't really directed an action-heavy film since his debut on Henry V, based on the Shakespeare play.  Marvel will set a distributor for Thor shortly.  The Thor comic-book adaptation, penned by Mark Protosevich (The Cell), follows disabled medical student Donald Blake, who has an alter ego as the hammer-wielding Norse god Thor.

05/23/08 – Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, talked about the upcoming Thor movie, confirming that it will take place mostly in Asgard, the mythical Norse realm of the gods, and not in the contemporary real world. "The film is not all Asgard, but it will be a big chunk in Asgard, yeah," Feige said.  Feige promised an announcement about a director for Thor "later this summer (2008)."  Mark Protosevich is drafting a script.  Release date: Thor on June 4, 2010.

05/06/08 – Marvel announced on May 5th that it will release a sequel, Iron Man 2, and a film version of Thor in the summer of 2010, followed by what it's calling an Avengers-themed summer in 2011, with the release of The First Avenger: Captain America (working title) and The Avengers.  The company, which is producing its own slate of movies based on Marvel Comics characters, added that it does not plan to release a film in 2009.  Iron Man 2 will open on April 30, 2010, followed by Thor on June 4, 2010.  The two Avengers projects will follow: The First Avenger: Captain America on May 6, 2011, and The Avengers in July 2011.

12/31/06 - Marvel Studios tagged Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, based on the Marvel Comics character. Marvel is aiming for a production start winter of 2007.  Mark Protosevich did the adaptation of the comic-book franchise that launched in 1962. Thor is a blond hammer-wielding god who's sent to Earth to protect mankind.

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