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There's big news from Asgard tonight! According to The Hollywood Reporter, the legendary Sir Anthony Hopkins has joined the cast of Thor. This isn't one of these tightly kept casting announcements either, as THR reports that he and no one else is playing Odin. (Incidentally, there's no mention of Robert DeNiro and Jude Law among the confirmed cast members, so I'm guessing that was just a fever dream of a rumor.)

If you're not up on your Thor or Nordic mythology, Odin is the father of Thor and the ruler of Asgard. He's your typical white-bearded god sort, fond of wine, women, and wisdom. He's not immortal (none of the gods of Asgard are), but ages slowly, and possesses amazing powers of strength and wisdom. He famously sacrifices his eye for the foresight to prevent Ragnarok, a sadly futile act, but you can't blame a god for trying.

While a lot of people were hoping that the Brian Blessed would be Odin (and my own money was on the recently signed Stellan Skarsgard), you can't really get much better than Sir Hopkins. He'll add just the right amount of gravitas, but he's an actor who can still have fun in a role. I can't wait to see him go up against Loki, and watching him smack down Thor for his arrogance is going to be pure theater. Cheers, Kenneth Branagh!

You kids today, with your Marvel Studios and your top-notch directors. Many of you are too young to remember just what ugly treatments comic books received in the 1980s and 1990s. Oh sure, there was Tim Burton's Batman, but treatments like David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD were the norm. When a Thor movie was kicked around, the only requirement was muscles and blonde hair. In the 1990s, there was one man that fit that description: Fabio.

A funny little flashback has surfaced on Colleen Doran's blog, which has prompted a delightful trip back in time at Mania. In 1997, Fabio decided that he wanted to play Thor, so he approached animation director Seth Kearsley, and they cooked up a storyline with the help of Henry Gilroy. As Mania points out, this was not a Marvel movie , but it casually borrowed a few elements. The result, pictured to your right, was an unholy blend of Marvel's Thor and Captain Marvel / Shazam where Thor was punished for his arrogance by being shoved into the powerless body of a young boy. Despite its cheese and lack of Hollywood backing, it managed to recruit a lot of comic book talent for its designs, including Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. They were also desperately seeking Charlton Heston to voice Odin, and were in negotiations with Pamela Anderson to voice the Valkyrie Brunhild. But it died off, never to be seen again ... until the Internet could laugh about it.

The Thor rumors are flying fast and furious right now, which means we're due for a few big official confirmations soon. After German whispers flew that Jude Law and Robert DeNiro were part of the cast (again, not confirmed), Movieline is reporting that Dominic Cooper might be joining Thor as part of the Warriors Three.

The Warrior's Three are gods of Asgard, and frequent companions of Thor. They're not based in Nordic mythology like Thor, but drawn purely from the fellows you'd meet in medieval literature or old Hollywood's version of the Dark Ages. You have Fandral, the noble and dashing ladies man , Hogun the grim and fierce, and Volstagg the valiant and cheerful. They go on sturdy, manly adventures together against villains big and small, and undoubtedly do a lot of feasting, drinking, and wenching afterward. They're more than just thinly drawn supporting characters, and if they get a lot of screen time in the movie, they'll be a welcome balance to Thor's bombastic ways.

Cooper let slip that he was "approached" for the part of Fandral, though he stressed that nothing was signed and official. He strikes me as a little young for Fandral (he's a god, but he's seen and done some stuff), and not nearly dashing enough. But hey, one girl's "He seems nice" is another's suave and swashbuckling, so your opinion may very. He's certainly a good actor, which means more in the long run, and is such a reassuring glimpse into how seriously Kenneth Branagh is taking Thor.

The casting twists and turns of the Marvel Universe are nearly as interesting as the movies themselves -- ok, not quite, but you have to let me run with a little hyperbole. The casting for Kenneth Branagh's Thor has been top notch so far, but the latest casting rumors might just take the film into the realm of unbelievable. According to Ain't It Cool News, German actor Matthias Schweighöfer revealed in German GQ that not only was he up for a role in Thor, but that Jude Law and Robert DeNiro were part of the cast.

Obviously, this is coming from a magazine and through a bit of translation, so we'll have to see if its officially confirmed. But running on the big assumption that this is a done deal, Thor has managed to land the biggest and most illustrious cast of Marvel yet -- and after Iron Man 1 and 2, that's saying a lot.

But who on earth could they be playing? I had Stellan Skarsgard pegged as Odin, but could it actually be DeNiro? Law actually fits the profile of a few Asgardians. I could easily see him as Balder, half brother of Thor. As for Schweighofer, there's a dozen Asgardians I could see him as. I can't wait to see the pieces come together on this intruging rumor.

I know it's a huge bummer that Iron Man director Jon Favreau told MTV that he's not going to be directing The Avengers, Marvel's forthcoming superhero omnibus film that'll feature the likes of The Hulk, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and whoever else the now Disney-owned studio wants to create a new action figure for. Favreau would love to do it, and he'll executive produce, but logistically he is just not going to be available to direct. Obviously that's not going to stop Marvel from moving forward with the guaranteed moneymaker, so here are five humble suggestions for replacement.

Before we let the fanboy inside us explode at the possibilities, let's keep things a bit grounded. They've got to be directors who could tackle something in the fantasy-action realm and they have to be available; so even though I'd be game for them, busy A-listers like Christopher Nolan or J.J. Abrams just aren't practical.

The week has ended without Thor fans finding out who Stellan Skarsgard is playing, but we have a hint as to who else might be appearing in Kenneth Branagh's film. SpoilerTV, who have stumbled on many a casting hint lately, have posted an alleged casting call for "Warriors." The requirements are stern, as befits residents and foes of Asgard: "A fearless warrior race, where size, strength and ferocity define a member's rank in both the social and military hierarchy. Warriors born in this society face the harshest ecological conditions imaginable and thrive in environments where lesser creatures, including humans, quickly perishes. Theirs is a world created to cull weakness from the universe to ensure their supreme sovereignty spreads across the stars. MUST BE 6'2 OR TALLER sptv050769, NO BODYBUILDER TYPES. SAG ROLE BUT NO LINES. MUST BE COMFORTABLE WEARING PROSTHETICS."

At the word "Warriors" my brain stopped, and I thought it was a casting call for the Warriors Three. But those three badasses are quite distinct personalities, and none of them would need prosthetics other than the extremely large Volstagg. It's clearly not them.

The key phrase here would appear to be "their supreme sovereignty spreads across the stars." Is this a casting call for the Skrulls? You can't really get any more militaristic and conquest driven than these guys, and one definitely needs prosthetics to pull them off. But what the heck would Skrulls be doing in Thor? Even Loki hasn't had much to do with those creeps until recently. The obvious answer would be to have them come in and set up The Avengers, but with two villains and two love interests, you'd think there was enough crazy to go around. Anyone out there have a better guess as to who our prosthetic-heavy warriors might be?

[via Superhero Hype]

We're entering into a frustrating trend with Thor news now. Excellent actors continue to sign on, but we have no idea who they are playing, which certainly keeps things interesting, but hurts when it comes to the geek discussions we could be having. The latest to reportedly join the cast is a Skarsgard, but not the one who you might expect.. According to Swedish news site Ystands Allehanda, Stellan Skarsgard has joined the cast of Thor in an unspecified role.

As you Thor fans undoubtedly remember, Stellan's son Alexander was in the running to play Thor. Skarsgard confirmed that he was so close as to have tried on the costume, and was one of the last contenders cut before Kenneth Branagh chose Chris Hemsworth. (Every episode of True Blood I see, I think Hemsworth has to be something really special if they cut Skarsgard, who would have been my pick.) If the elder Skarsgard is indeed part of the cast, I would like to be a fly on the wall for that family phone call.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

The gods of Asgard (or Marvel, if you prefer) have been largely deaf to the prayers of mere mortals, and refusing to reveal any deep dark secrets about Kenneth Branagh's Thor. But tonight, The Hollywood Reporter brings us some casting news that'll wind up the fans of the Thunder God. Colm Feore and Jaimie Alexander have signed on to join Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Natalie Portman.

The most exciting part of this news for me is Alexander, who gets to play the fierce warrior-goddess Sif. She was once a lass with golden hair (just like her "real" Norse counterpart) but Loki was jealous of her hair color, stole it, and replaced it with enchanted troll hair. Jerk. But Sif shrugged it off, picked up a big sword, and became one of the toughest warriors of Asgard. She also became Thor's lover, and while she accompanies other male Asgardians into battle, she also sticks by her Thunder Man. If you're wondering how he could leave such a kick-ass girl for a mortal like Jane Foster (who will be played by Portman), don't think too badly of Thor. Once he went mortal as Donald Blake, he became confused and convinced Jane was the reincarnation of Sif. Reportedly, Donald Blake isn't in the Thor movie, so perhaps they're just going with a standard love triangle, and Thor will have to chose between his mortal and (relatively) immortal girlfriends.

Feore's role is being kept a secret, and Marvel will only say that he's playing a villain. I'm going to just take a wild guess that he's going to play Mephisto, and that's just because of Sif and her love connection. But perhaps he's playing Surtur so they have someone to help Loki bring around Ragnarok. Your guess is as good as mine and since THR is reporting that not even the actors have seen the script, guesses are all we have to go on.