I really expected to hate Kenneth Branagh’s Thor.
He’s a fine director, and Marvel had shown even by that point that they knew what they were doing, but the idea of a movie based on a Norse god as superhero just sounded terrible. Happily though I was wrong, and the film ended up being an entertaining entry that managed to make both its hero and villain extremely likeable. Now that we’ve entered Marvel’s Phase Two, their post-Avengers plan is ready to roll out with sequels and new content.
Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 is first out of the gate this summer, but hot on its heels will be Thor: The Dark World. Branagh has been replaced with TV veteran Alan Taylor. While it may seem like a risk tasking a television guy with crafting an epic, big screen adventure take comfort in the fact that some of the series on his resume are equally ambitious and well respected including Oz, Homicide, The West Wing, Deadwood, The Sopranos, Mad Men and, wait for it… the somewhat apropos Game of Thrones.
If that doesn’t do it for you though you can just check out the teaser for Thor: The Dark World below.
I’m worried about Jane.
The teaser does a pretty fantastic job of showing the increased scale of the film from its predecessor, and it’s clear we’ll once again see a split in the action between Earth and Asgard. Chris Hemsworth returns as the god of thunder along with many others including Natalie Portman as his earthly squeeze, Jaime Alexander as the ass-kicking third wheel and Tom Hiddleston as the poster child for sibling rivalry, Loki. Newcomers include Zachary Levi, Chris O’Dowd and Christopher Eccleston as the main baddie.
Like I said, the teaser looks great, but my biggest smile came with the arrival of Loki towards the end. He’s just a solid character made fascinating by Hiddleston’s performance, and I’m glad The Avengers didn’t mark the end of him.
The official synopsis is below.
Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.”
Thor: The Dark World hits theaters November 8th, 2013.
Related Topics: Chris Hemsworth
