Have Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson (“Punisher: War Zone”) and Tadanobu Asano (“Mongol”) joined the notable cast of Kenneth Branagh’s increasingly impressive sounding “Thor”? Townsend is still probably more famous for being the guy that convinced Charlize Theron to sleep with him on a regular basis, but he’s certainly not a bad actor either.
The trio will apparently play The Warriors Three, a triad of of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god (is this thing going to cost like $200 million dollars by the way?)
Curiously enough. ComingSoon gets their report from Variety, but the trade’s piece has been taken down. Did someone speak too soon and run with something that actually wasn’t confirmed yet? Too late it seems, the Internet is all over it. We wonder if that means it’s actually true. Probably. Whenever a publication pulls a story like this it’s because a studio, PR person or agent is not 100%, or the trade just got too overzealous with their report. Update: Guess the Variety URL changed for some reason. It’s legit.
The cast of Marvel’s “Thor” is the right way to cast a potentially silly movie like this. Actors first, star and names second, which is why we’re perhaps more excited for this Marvel film more than any other. Branagh seems to have the right intentions here and is treating the material with gravity. Whether audiences or Marvel likes that in the end remains to be seen, but it’s a smart choice, we think.
The cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, possibly Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Stellan Skarsgard. Filming is set to begin January and the release date is May 20, 2011.