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Kenneth Branagh in Talks To Direct Thor

Posted on Sunday, September 28th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

Emmy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated Northern Irish actor and film director Kenneth Branagh is in talks to helm a big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Thor. Branagh is an odd choice as he hasn’t directed an action movie in 19 years. And his feature directorial debut of William Shakespeare’s play Henry V is hardly audition material for a big budget American superhero film. But I guess the same could be said for Bryan Singer, before he was brought on to direct X-Men.

Written by Mark Protosevich, the story begins as the arrogant God Thor is sent by his father Odin to learn humility in the body of a partially disabled medical student Donald Blake. He discovers Thor’s hammer and learns to change back and forth into the Thunder God. Marvel will self-fiance the production, and a distributor is expected to be announced shortly. Marvel has announced a June 4th 2010 release date for the film.

Branagh will next be seen in Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie this December. Branagh’s last directorial effort Sleuth starred Jude Law and Michael Caine, and grossed $703,000 worldwide. His filmography also includes The Magic Flute, As You Like It, Hamlet (1996), Frankenstein (1994) and Much Ado About Nothing.

Discuss: What do you think of Marvel’s choice of Branagh to direct Thor?

source: Variety

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  • ChampCheyne
    It suits his previous directing credits. we will see how he handles action
  • Joseph Fritzl
    spoiler alert: nobody gives a fuck about thor
  • [A]
    Better than Ratner, ahem
  • Yeah because Jon Favreau was a big time action director before Iron Man... Elf & Zathura, mmmmmh

    In any case Branagh is a great director and thus a very interesting choice.
  • WTF??!!!!
    seriously, who's the genius in the studio sitting around and saying let's give this 100+ mil epic movie to pretty much a nobody director...

    ps. Bryan Singer had an Oscar for Usual Suspects before tackling X-Men... again I might be wrong, but as far as I know, Kenneth Branagh doesn't have something like that...
  • M&Co
    Shora - you are joking right?
  • fanboy d
    kenneth branagh (to borrow from anchorman) is kind of a big deal. at least in the united kingdom. he, like favreau, is an actor and a director, but unlike favreau, he's a true thespian critically acclaimed for his stagework specially.

    he can also command a great cast, having worked with denzel washington and robert deniro on his previous directorial projects, so it's again possible that marvel is hoping to lure a cast of a similar level to their last two efforts.

    not to mention he's known for his love of shakespeare, and to big thor fans, the melodrama of the character is perceived to owe a lot to the bard

    good call, if it's true
  • Shora learn your stuff. Kenneth Branagh proved his worth long before Bryan Singer did anything.

    Directing wise he's been nominated for two Oscars, the Golden Bear, the Golden Palm, the Indepent Spirit Award, the Golden Lion etc... He won the BAFTA for Henry V and the Queer Lion for Sleuth. And that's just counting the more prestigious awards.

    If you want to compare awards, not that it proves a director's worth. Branagh has 20 wins + 25 nominations while Singer has 10 wins + 9 nominations. Also just so you know, Singer never won any Oscar, nor was he ever nominated. His actor and his screenwriter were the ones who got one.
  • Nish
    An interesting choice of director. I wonder what made him consider the job he doesn't seem like the comic-book reader type, but he must be if he is in talks to direct Thor. Like the above commentor said, Thor kind of has a shakespearian feel to it and it certainly is where he has experience, which is probably what Marvel want, someone who will stay closer to the feel of the comics.
  • flimkid
    i hope they mix thor with the mighty thor and ultimate thor the ultimate thor outfit and hammer is much cooler then might thor
  • John S.
    I approve of this.

    Branagh is a great director, and his experience with Shakespeare could suit Thor well, seeing as Thor is quite an eloquent character.
  • joel
    "the story begins as the arrogant God Thor is sent by his father Odin to learn humility in the body of a partially disabled medical student Donald Blake"

    If that's the story they're going with then Henry V (young punk kid becomes king and leads his troops to victory on foreign soil) is a good comparison. Both are about someone having to learn about growing up and taking responsibility for inherited (not earned) power
  • Christopher Marc
    unless Thor is going to be a dull period piece this is a bad choice...I remember renting the Hamlet movie he made when it came out on video...I was so excited and then feel asleep while watching it....this guy should be directing stage plays not movies....If there is going to be any kind of large action scenes he's going to be lost...trust me I'm fan of his work for the most part

    The difference between Singer and Branagh is the fact Singer had knowledge of how to shoot high end action scenes...Usual Suspects didn't have many but the shoot outs were great....I still think the studio is kicking themselves for letting Matthew Vaughn walk away, now their trying to find someone similar....I'd rather see Kenneth tackle the new King Lear film, the man makes moves for people 30 plus...this movie is going to have to interest 13 year olds and younger...attention spans aren't going to want to sit for a 2hour Branagh Thor movie...

    I could be totally off with my opinion but they have many other options when it comes to directors..why him? and remember this is a comic book character/god that carries a large hammer, so it's far from a serious story
  • Baron Von Cheddar
    Its a good choice. Branagh's eyes & ears will help find Thor's noble roots, as well, Branagh is no stranger to costume dramas.

    Yes, the action and special effects are still a concern, but Branagh will certainly have plenty of support from his production staff to smooth over issues with those. He's worked on films with plenty of CGI & SFX before (Harry Potter 2, Frankenstein, Wild Wild West) so at least he has a history of on-set work.

    The bigger issue is the script & story. Bringing a Son of Asgard to Midgard (Earth) will need to be believable and and not alienate audiences with the perceived pretentiousness that sometimes follows a bunch of fancy-talkin' Asgardians.
  • Harry Lime
    Branagh is a cool guy and I think he can do a good job with Thor, but I will never forgive him for cheating on Emma Thompson.
  • skaught
    i recommend everyone check out dead again, one of brannagh's non-shakesie works.
  • Captain Awesome
    Much better than Bratner. The other problem is I never cared for Thor to begin with. Mythical Gods running around with spandex superheroes always sounded and looked silly to me.

    If they did it more along the lines of the original mythos, then maybe.
  • Jamie
    Um, Ang Lee called, he wants his... er... something back...

    Okay, I can't figure out how to make that joke work but superhero movies do not need intensely artistic directors.

    What's next? Lars von Trier directs Green Lantern? Werner Herzog directs Captain America?

    Well, actually, I'd like to see that. But I don't very many other people would.
  • Meli
    I think Branagh is a smart choice I'd love to see what he would do with Thor.
  • Agent J
    I remember watching Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing in English Class. They were awesome. Long live the Stream!
  • 790
    How is this not, going to be a comedy.
  • Alex
    This news makes my week. It'll be what the Hulk could have been with Ed Norton's rewrites, a character study (which is what all comic book movie adaptations should be imo). This is marvel trying to answer the artistry in The Dark Knight.
  • Ghost
    I think this would be actually good. Branaugh's acting experience especially on the stage could really make Asgard and Thor and everyone else the right level of believability that's hard to achieve when you hear someone trying to speak Shakespeare-like and come off as serious.

    The action will be interesting to see, but I think as a director he can really ground this film, and maybe with some good choreographers he'll get the action down.
  • Anti-Septic
    I must say I like the idea myself. Thor will be more difficult to film than any other comic movie. Iron Man had this cool technology factor that was easy to delve into. Thor has to be based on very good acting and direction or it could turn out very cheesy. I dont envy this director's task of making Thor believable and yet also making it current and new to fans and also non-fans.

    Lets keep our fingers crossed on this.
  • Brad Pitt as Thor....
  • NC-17forkids
    Dolph Lundgren should direct/act in this. Nobody cares about Thor the comic, why not hand over the reins to the Master Of The Universe?
  • LP
    Branagh seems like an inspired choice. Based on his filmography, you can clearly see that he certainly know how to do "epic" and handle dramatic dialogue, which is something that you can identify with Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. Also, it would be great to have him team up with composer Patrick Doyle again.
  • jj gonzo
    i have a bad feeling about this!!!
    the man that turned down the
    obi-wan kenobi role in the prequels
    as the director of THOR makes my
    brain SAD!!!
  • Square
    All production decisions aside, Fritzl's point still stands: nobody gives a fuck about Thor.

    How the hell do you tie the Norse God of Thunder in with Iron Man and Captain America? Can anybody imagine this character standing next to Robert Downey. Jr. in the Avengers movie? Even in the Marvel Universe the character never made any goddamn sense. If he was just a dude with superhuman abilities and a background to explain it, that'd be one thing. But just to say "he's a god" (which they eventually admit in Ultimates too) is just fuckin lazy. Worst Marvel character ever – because Marvel didn't even invent him.
  • Stevedore
    I GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THOR! And so do many others. This movie should be great! And you tie it in the same way the comics did. And in the Marvel Universe "gods" are simply extradimensional beings who happened to have been worshipped by humans when they travelled to Earth in the distant past. Oh and excuse me but the Hulk is sooo believable and realistic, right? That's why the character can't even be potrayed by an actual actor-- they need CGI to pull it off. Don't get me wrong, I love the Hulk. Probably, because I have imagination.
  • Stevedore
    I am so tired of people crapping all over the idea of a Thor movie, yet we're all gonna have to suffer with another tired Punisher movie even after the first two bombed. I think it's small-minded and selfish. Anyone who doesn't 'get' Thor doesn't 'get' the Avengers and isn't a real Avengers fan. This is how I see it...
    Marvel Comics movie fans are split into 2 groups:
    1. Fans who like all the Marvel Universe and enjoy fantasy as well as sci-fi.
    2. Newbies who can only handle sci-fi retread and lack the imagination to handle Thor (i.e. anyone who thinks Wolverine is the best thing to hit Marvel since Stan Lee himself and actually think he deserves another, solo movie).

    I heard the approach to the Thor film will be a less artsy more badass Lord of the Rings crossed with 300—only with a plot. Those films had no box office problems.
    But if it were up to me --- Branagh directing is fine as long as Marvel Studios lights a fire under his ass about the action. No to Branagh as Thor (ridiculous), No to Ultimate Thor (at least in his own movie), and please No Beard !
  • Stevedore
    Seeing as how 2 of the three prequels faired amongst fans and the box office, it was probably good judgment on his part. It's reassuring to me because it says he doesn't like to mess with a classic.
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