May 18 2009 Thor, Here's Your Loki: Tom Hiddleston?
Following today's earlier news that a guy you'd probably never heard of has been cast as Thor, Nikki Finke has news that some other guy you probably never heard of has been cast as the superhero's arch-villain, Loki:
I've learned that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Thor director Kenneth Branagh have cast their Loki, the nemesis to the lead in Thor set for release on May 20, 2011. He's Tom Hiddleston, unknown to American audiences but an award-winning British actor and Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts (RADA) graduate. He played Winston Churchill's son in HBO's The Gathering Storm, but, more to the point, note that Hiddleston starred in Ivanov opposite Sir Kenneth on the London stage and also starred with him in the BBC miniseries Wallander. Marvel Studios won't confirm my news, but Hiddleston had been considered as a possible Thor.
Of course, one of the great things about casting no-name actors in blockbuster films is how much budget it clears up for the effects team. Hopefully it will be enough to add the sassy, English-speaking, CGI Pegasus I always thought Thor should ride into battles.
Mar 17 2009 Natalie Portman Loves Thor?
Who will play Thor? Who will play Thor's arch-enemy, Loki? And who will play Thor's Kim Basinger character? These questions continue to plague us, but Deadline Hollywood has some new semi-answers:
...there's a big push to cast Josh Hartnett either in the winged helmet and/or as nemesis Loki......besides Hartnett, the following actors are being tested: Charlie Hunnam (the British co-star of the F/X series Sons Of Anarchy); Tom Hiddleston (award-winning British actor and RADA graduate who played Winston Churchill's son in HBO's The Gathering Storm), Alexandar Skarsgard (Stellan's son who has appeared in the HBO Iraq War miniseries Generation Kill and vampire drama True Blood, and who's definitely visually right for the role), Liam Hemsworth (offered a significant role in The Expendables after Sly Stallone saw his tape), and Joel Kinnaman (some Swedish-American dude).
Meanwhile, I'm told Natalie Portman is in the lead for the female lead.
Does Natalie Portman playing a female lead mean Thor has a love interest? I'm not that familiar with the Thor mythos, but I thought his only true love was the hammer Mjolnir. Maybe she'll end up being more of a Scully character to Thor's Mulder, where he's always insisting he's a Norse god, and she's like, "Thor, there are no such thing as Norse gods!" And he's like, "Then where did I get this sweet hat!?"
