The Adventures of Captain Otter

Thor looks to be ready to go.  The sets are built, and word is that all the parts have been cast.  We get another actor on board.  Idris Elba will be playing Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard who generally likes to keep things in line.  I wouldn’t expect this to be a massive role, but in future films I could see him getting a fair amount of face time.  Along with Balder, Sif, and the Warriors Three, Heimdall is one of the more important Asgardians. 

Hey, wait a second…

Not to point out the obvious, but Elba is black.  The Asgardians are usually drawn as Norse looking, seeing as they are Norse gods.  Heimdall is no exception.  Sure Hogun is being played by an Asian actor, but he should be since he’s not actually from Asgard.  But Heimdall (to my knowledge) has never been a non-Asgardian.  So, I figured this would be a great chance to talk a bit about race, loyalty to the comics, and the integrity of the characters.

Needless to say, this is a departure from how the character is portrayed.  But should race matter?  If an actor is a good actor, then shouldn’t he get the part?  Shouldn’t we be able to look past race?  Yes and no.  To some degree, you have to stay loyal to the source material.  And race is part of a character’s identity.  With some characters you can be flexible with these portrayals.  Others, not so much.  Captain American should have that all-American look, and it part of his character that he was the son of Irish immigrants.  He needs to have the blue eyes and blonde hair too.  Thats just part of his identity.  When you change his origin, you start making a different character, which is usually a change for the worse.

My ultimate verdict on this topic is that if a character’s race is truly important to their identity, stay with the comics.  If it’s not, then the studios should feel confortable taking a bit of freedom on the issue.  So, is it alright that Heimdall is being portrayed by a black actor?  At first, yes.  I think he’s a great actor and I’ve enjoyed him in everything I’ve seen him in.  You might know him from Rock’n'Rolla or his few episodes on the Office.  I think that you can have an Asgard where not every character looks Scandanavian.  It will feel a bit more like traditional fantasy, rather than specifically Norse legend and nothing else.  So yeah, he’s a cool choice, and I don’t think it will detract from the character or Asgard.  The problem?  He’s Sif’s brother.  This would be a case where race doesn matter, since I just won’t believe this guy is the brother of Jamie Alexander.  I don’t know if they’re going to ignore their brother/sister relationship (it’s not exactly a big plot element), but it’s a small change that I don’t care too much about.  The movie is about Thor.  You can take a some liberties with the supporting cast.

 So all in all, I think that Elba is another inspired choice on Marvel’s part.  This movie is going to rock, and I’m looking forward to the blending of traditional fantasy and superheroes.  They’re has been nothing really like it before.  Imagine if in the Return of the King, Thor popped up at the Black Gates.  That’s what I’m hoping out of Thor.  And with an established quality cast, I have no more doubts that this movie is going to be a huge success.

After a spectacular series of casting choices, I’ve always been waiting to hear who would be playing the Warriors Three.  The Warriors Three are a group of Asgardian adventures who are staunchly loyal to their friend, Thor.  I love these guys.  I was hoping that they could even get a spin off once the movie is done.  That’s how cool they are.  Cmon, you know you want to be as dashing as Fandral.  Or as hardcore as Hogun.  Or as completely awesome as Volstagg.  Three great characters who are even cooler when working together.  Last night, Marvel gave an official announcement as to who would be playing them.  This popped up on their website at around 2 last night, so I didn’t get time to finish this article.  Joining Chris Hemsworth are Stuart Townsend as Fandral, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, and Tadanobu Asano as Hogun.

Unfortunately, I’m not too excited about this.  I don’t think Townsend is right for Fandral.  Fandral is dashing (which this guy certainly can pull off), but he also should be this really charming guy with a fantastic sense of humor.  If you’ve seen the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Queen of the Damned, you’ll see that Townsend is a very different kind of charming.  I thought that Zachary Levi would have brought a much greater sense of fun to the role, and Townsend might be a bit too “pretty” for the role.  Like, when he makes fun of Volstagg, he should be playful about it.  Townsend might be the right man, but I’m not 100% convinced.  As for Stevenson, I’m kind of dissappointed.  Volstagg is supposed to be this loud, booming warrior who’s larger than life.  Stevenson is a great actor, and I’m sure they’re basing this decision off of his work on the show Rome.  His character was very similar to Volstagg in terms of personality.  Both are soldiers who are incredibly loyal and love nothing more than getting hammered beyond oblivion.  It’s just that Stevenson isn’t “booming” enough.  If you listen to him talk, you’ll see what I mean.  I would have really preferred Brendan Gleeson, who is perfect for the part in my mind.  I know plenty of people were hoping that Brian Blessed would grab the role, but I’m not sure if the guy could have pulled of the action scenes, seeing as he’s 72 years old.  Oh well.  Stevenson now is part of the “two timers club”, seeing as this is his second comic book character after playing the Punisher last year.  Other members include Halle Berry and Ryan Reynolds, who could possibly play 50 comic book roles if given enough time.

I do think that Tadanobu Asano is a great choice.  He just looks to part y’know?  His work in the movie Mongul means he can probably pull off this role.  Overall, I’m not too pumped in the choices here, but I have enough faith in the director.  Also, a funny thing.   The only other official choices are Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Portman.  Marvel hasn’t themselves announced anything else.  It’s not like the other choices arn’t confirmed.  Jamie Alexander recently talked about how she’s doing stunt training for the part.  I don’t know, maybe Marvel doesn’t want their comics website to release everything?

But with the Warriors Three, the cast should be almost done.  The only character we havn’t heard about is Balder, and possibly the Enchantress.  I expect these decisions to come out in the next few weeks.  And now that Thor is starting to wrap up it’s casting, Marvel is going to look towards its next blockbuster.  We should find out who’s playing Captain America very soon.  Maybe by the end of the month even.

We have some big casting news.  Several sources are posting that legendary actor Anthony Hopkins will be playing Thor’s father, the lord of Asgard himself, Odin.  While the rumors that DeNiro and Law would be in the movie are being debunked it seems (they were never too substantial anyway), this appears to be the real deal.  This is kind of weird, because I thought that Brian Blessed had the role, but I always thought it was weird that there was no confirmation on that.  And this leads to even more speculation as to whom Stellan Skargard is playing.  But still, Hopkins is Odin.

Honestly, this is a fantastic choice.  Hopkins is nothing short of a brilliant performer, and can’t you see him playing the wizened old father?  I can definitely imagine the classical Welsh actor laying down the law and being able to discipline his young, upstart son.  Because when Anthony Hopkins talks, you f*&#@ listen.  He also adds a bit of extra credibility to the movie, which is always good with a relative unknown as the main character.  While I think there are alot of actors who could play the role, Hopkins certainly stands out as a great choice.  You have no reason to complain about this.

There are even more rumors about the comic book adaptation.  Thor might be filmed in New Mexico.  It is possible that they are just building sets here, and the fact it’s in New Mexico doesn’t mean anything.  However, it is possible that part of the movie takes place somewhere in Mid/Southwest.  We know Thor is going to be banished to Earth, and some of the casting calls have suggested that the movie will take place in a small town.  The current comic books brought the God of Thunder to Oklahoma, so they might be drawing some influence from there.  The only problem is: what is there in New Mexico?  Once Thor comes to Earth, what does he do?  I guess this problem applies to wherever Thor may go, but I think it would be more fun to see Thor fight a battle in the middle of sprawling metropolis.  It would offer a higher contrast to the battles in Asgard, and we would get to see villains thrown through buildings.  I guess we’ll have to see how this one plays out.

When Chris Hemsworth was announced to play Thor, I was thrilled.  He wasn’t some huge superstar, but felt right for the role.  Marvel then chose another up and coming actor to play his archvillain Loki, who would have a huge part to play in the movie.  I figured that when they got Natalie Portman to play Jane Foster, that would be their “star power”.  She could bring people in, and the rest of the minor roles would be filled out by respectable actors who could do their parts well.  After all, you don’t need A-listers to play Heimdall or the Warriors Three, so I figured any other casting rumors would be small and cool, but nothing major.  This trend was confirmed with the casting of Jamie Alexander and Colm Feore, and I thought I had made a good call.  Apparently not.

 The newest rumor?  Jude Law and Robert DeNiro have joined up.

 WHAT?!?!!?!

How are there this many parts left for people to take?  I don’t know how many more characters this movie could use, or how this happened.  The rumor was revealed in an interview with Matthias Schweighöfer, who is auditioning for a part himself.  He says Law and DeNiro have already been cast, but is not revealing who they will be playing.  I’m not sure how reliable this rumor is, or how much this guy knows, but we can at least consider it.  I think Law must be playing Balder the Brave.  Balder is an important part of the mythos, and if there are more movies he will certainly have a substantial part.  In the comics right now, Balder is leading the Asgardians while Thor is exiled.  Law would actually be a great choice for the character, and I can’t imagine him playing anyone else at this point.  Although if Loki’s part wasn’t taken, I would have assumed he would be playing the God of Deceit.  The weird part is Robert DeNiro.  I have no idea who he could play.  Odin seems to be filled already (I think, at least), and that is the only role I could imagine him playing.  DeNiro would have to play an aged, venerable character with ancient knowledge.  Sounds alot like Odin.  Unless they want him as a human of some kind, I’m downright confused.

Still, having such well known actors is only going to give this movie more buzz and bigger number box office numbers.  A movie with Natalie Portman, Jude Law, and Robert Deniro is going to catch people’s attention, although I would like nothing more than to see Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston to dominate the movie as the two main characters.

It looks like Thor has another cast member.  Joining the big screen epic is Stellan Skarsgard, a more than respectable actor who’s been in movies like Good Will Hunting and Pirates of the Caribbean.  Hmm…. Skarsgard.  Wasn’t there another Skarsgard connected to this movie?  Oh yeah, that would be Stellan’s son Alex, who came so close to grabbing the part they he even put on the costume.  Kind of weird for the dad to be in a movie that his son lost, but I’m sure everyone is professional enough to know the drill. 

Anyway, the next question is to figure out what part Stellan is taking.  An earlier rumor had suggested that Stellan would play Odin, Thor’s all powerful dad.  Rumors had also said that Brian Blessed had snatched the part, and IMDB still has him down as playing the part.  Because I havn’t seen anything official, I still think Odin is a possibility.  Other than that, we know way too little about the plot to make guesses.  This isn’t the first time we got an actor with the name of his character.  Colm Feore joined up not to long ago, and all we know is that he’s a villain.  Is Skarsgard a villain as well?  Is he an Asgardian?  Or is he a human on Earth?  Only time (or Marvel) will tell.

The other intesting thing is that Marvel isn’t sending out the script unless they absolutely have to.  The studio attempted to sign Skarsgard on without giving him a copy, and when he refused, they sent him a computer file so heavily coded he could only print out one copy.  Looks like they are trying to keep this thing as closely guarded as possible.  They could be doing this because the script is bad, and they don’t want bad press to start up already.  I think this is unlikely, since they seem confident in the movie’s success.  And Skarsgard did accept the part after all, so it couldn’t be that bad.  Much more likely is that they don’t want any leaks.  Good or bad, getting the script out there this far in advance hurts the movie.  They saw what happened with the Wolverine leak, and don’t want it happening to them.  Because, let’s face it, if I have access to a copy of the script, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist the temptation of reading it.

The cast for Thor is starting to flesh out, and today we have two more new recruits.  I know I said that I would talk about the Siege event, but this is more important.  Joining Chris Hemsworth is Jaime Alexander and Colm Feore.  Jaime has been doing TV and is starting to break into movies, and is also incredibly gorgeous.  I’ve never seen her act, and quite frankly, I don’t care.  Just look at her.

Alexander will be playing Sif, an Asgardian who likes beating the snot out of just about everything.  There was a rumor that Jessica Biel might take the part, but it could turn out that Biel will play the Enchantress (which was originally speculated) or won’t be joining the movie at all.  Anyway, I don’t think anyone will complain about this girl.  I don’t know how big a part Sif will play, since Jane Foster will be the primary love interest.  I expect her to be a supporting character, and when Thor is banished maybe she tries to help him out.  As Thor spends time on Earth, he learns to love us humans (and why wouldn’t you?) and fights to defend us.  Maybe Sif will question Thor’s decisions, since the character was never to fond of humans.  Who knows.  Either way, this girl is in.

The other actor is Colm Feore.  Feore has been around for quite some time, and you might have seen him last year on 24.  He played the president’s husband, and did a pretty good job.  The actor will be playing some kind of villain, although we don’t know who this is.  Even though Loki is going to be an important character, I expect there to be someone else for Thor to hit.  Maybe this guy will be playing that villain, although it is unlikely.  Something shadowy and sinister. 

We still need a few more parts filled out.  We need casting for the Warriors Three, Hemdal, Balder, and a bunch of other Asgardians.  If all goes well at Marvel, we should be hearing some more announcements soon.  And once that’s done, we get to find out who will play Captain America.  Come on, you the know the suspense is killing you.

It looks like Thor is starting to wrap up its casting, and has announced the next big part.  Natalie Portman, who had been rumored for the female lead quite some time ago, has joined the cast as Jane Foster.  This comes as a bit of a surprise, since we had just heard that Jessica Biel was being considered.  The Natalie Portman rumor was such a long time ago and mentioned so briefly that I thought Marvel had moved on.  Well it’s not a rumor anymore, and has been confirmed.

I’m satisfied with this.  I think Portman would have been a poor choice for Sif, but she makes a great fit for Jane Foster.  I had said I wanted Biel for the lead when I predicted that Sif would be the love interest and stand by that.  I don’t see Portman as a warrior-goddess, although I do wonder what they’ll do with the character.  Maybe Biel will still have a part as the Enchantress, which works just as well.  Portman is actually a pretty good actress, even though I havn’t seen her in too many things.  I did like her in V for Vendetta even if I can’t forget the Star Wars prequel trilogy.  And I think she was nominated for an academy award for Closer, which is always a good thing.  It’s a solid casting choice, and I doubt many fans will complain.  And it makes sense from a marketing point of view.  Getting established actors for every part of the Avengers movie will get pricy, and by finding qualified new talent you get great franchise players.  You then grab more high profile actors for big roles in the solo movies to bump things up.

Along with the casting, we get alot more info from Marvel.  They tell us that Thor is an arrogant warrior who starts up an ancient war (like in the comics).  He’s sent to Earth, where he learns to be a true hero while fending off the most dangerous villain of Asgard and an army of evil.  I hope you agree that this sounds pretty awesome.  We knew Thor had to be banished, but evil armies?  Epic villains?  This is what I want to hear.  Thor could use some old school fantasy action, and we can expect to see more than a few monsters.  But who is the “dangerous villain”?  They didn’t come out and say Loki, so can we just expect the God of Trickery (and awesomeness) to manipulate events from behind the scenes?  This would be a good way to keep him in the franchise for all of the movies.  If he gets into a big fight, then it will be hard for him to keep up his deception since people will know he is evil.  So who is this dangerous villain?  Surtur is a raging fire demon who could cause some damage.  The Frost Giants are always up to no good, and surely have it out for the God of Thunder.  The executioner isn’t one to be leading an army of evil unless the enchantress is involved, which might work better for a later movie.  I’m not too familiar with old school Thor villains (yet), and can only guess as to who this villain is.  Either way, expect Loki to be causing massive amount of mayhem.

So, I’m really happy with the way comic book movies are heading.  Thor keeps on sounding great, and if Captain America is set in world war 2 then I’m expecting a huge movie.  Iron man 2 is supposed to have a great script, and with such an astounding cast I can’t see it failing.  And Green Lantern is setting up to be the beginning of a shared DC movie universe which should be great fun.  With San Diego Comic Con coming up, we’re going to be hearing alot more real soon.

Happy Fourth of July everyone.  It may be a great day to go outside, but you can always take a quick time out to follow up on comic book goodness.  Actually, I’m on vacation myself, so sorry for not posting yesterday.  But some news is just too good to pass up on.  It may be a day or two old, but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t talk about the possibility of Jessica Biel joining the cast of Thor.

I think this is good news.  Biel is a decent actress, and I don’t remember seeing her in too many things where she impressed me.  But with a director like Kenneth Branagh, I confident that he knowns what to do with her.  He isn’t one to throw a girl in a movie just because she’s hot.  Then again, a girl like Biel is just so damn gorgeous I don’t think anyone cares if she can act or not.  As for who Biel will play, this is a slightly tricky question.  She will play Thor’s love interest, that much is certain, but I can’t be certain if she will be playing Sif or Jane Foster.  Jane Foster is usually connected with Donald Blake, who will be absent from the movie.  Since part of the movie will take place in Asgard, it will be much easier to put Sif as the love interest from the beginning.  It will be hard to work her into the story once Thor gets sent to Earth, but then again we don’t know what Thor is doing in our world in the first place.  Once Thor gets to Earth, having Jane Foster as the love interest would make more sense.  Still, Sif has to be Asgard, and how can those two not be together?

So, we can’t say who the love interest will be.  What I can say is that Biel would make a great Sif.  She looks like she could be some kind of warrior goddess.  There had been an older rumor that Natalie Portman was being looked at, but I never liked that.  She would have made an awful Sif, but could have been a good Jane Foster.  Still, I don’t like Natalie Portman that much.  I can’t help but remember her role in Star Wars.  All she ever did was complain for three movies.  Few things worked in the prequel trilogy, and she wasn’t one of them.  I guess I’m scarred by that experience.  I like the Jessica Biel rumor so much more.

And sorry there are no pictures today.  I can’t bring any images on to this computer right now.  Its a shame, because I’ll use any excuse to put pictures of girls like Jessica Biel up.

 Oh yeah, and remember a while ago when I posted about some guy named Clifton Collins Jr. wanting to be in Thor?  Well he has nothing to do with it now.  This means they must be making decision, and we’ll be seeing more announcements soon.

Why is there so much news about Thor?  All the stuff about his new movie, and now his comic book.  Well, at least hes getting attention.  Recently, JMS announced he would be taking a step down from writing Thor.  This isn’t a small change.  JMS has been instrumental in bringing Thor back into the spotlight after his brief hiatus.  Thor hasn’t been this good since…. ever.  Giving the God of the Thunder a striking new look and throwing Asgard into Oklahoma, JMS changed around Thor’s life while mainting the roots of the character.  If you’ve the series, you’ll see why its the best Marvel has to offer.

 But why did JMS leave Thor in the first place?  Marvel has big plans for Thor and Asgard, with something called the Siege of Asgard in the works.  JMS felt he simply couldn’t handle a big event so is handing off the series.  Well, I’ve got to respect him for that.  I would have liked him to make some kind of big event himself, but if he feels like he can’t do it, then good for him for reconizing it.  But the Siege of Asgard just sounds like an amazing concept.  What could possibly stand up to the power of Asgard?  Who has the guts to lay siege to a city filled with gods?  And not just any gods, but Norse gods.  These guys live for fighting and killing things.  Someone would have to be pretty crazy to stand up to them.

Of course, what kind of blog would this be if it didn’t give a list of beings crazy/powerful enough to try?  We start our list off with Dr. Doom.  Doom already has a role in Thor’s series, so there is a potential mash up there.  Can’t think of a motive for it, but then again I don’t know how Asgard is going to be filled up again anyway.  We also have Norman Osborn.  If hes still in power at this point, then I’m sure hell have some question about the huge Asgardian fortress stuck in the midwest.  If Loki has started to mess with the Cabal, this could be his retaliation for her betrayal.  This is probably the most plausible fight.  Other powerhouses like Magneto, Namor, or other divine pantheons could be candidates, but I can’t think of reasons for Marvel to bring them in.  Marvel wants this event to happen, so its going to deal with current big players.  Osborn is the most likely considering his current position.  Then again, we have no idea if the Siege of Asgard is happening, or if JMS is talking about something else.  This is just the event name that I’ve heard thrown around recently.

No matter whats going on with the events, Thor needs a writer.  Who could possibly keep this momentum going?  The first name that pops up is Matt Fraction.  He wrote a series of Thor one shots, and certainly has a grasp for the chacters, especially the supporting cast.  I’m not his biggest fan, but I think his skill does lie with more decompressed titles.  I’d like to see what he could do, and wouldn’t be dissappointed with him on the team.  If he continues the plotlines established, I think he could make it work.  And since Fraction is writing Iron Man right now, we could see some well done crossovers and have the two characters start to develop a fuller relationship once more.  Other than that, I’m not well versed enough in specific writers to give a full list.  But hey, I’m on the way.

So this is what, my third post on Thor?  Out of like 6 total?  It looks like alot of great stuff is happening, and today i saw two interviews about the movie.  The first is with Tom Hiddleston, the man who will be Loki.  I think hes a good enough choice.  I kind of wanted James Purefoy for the part, but Hiddleston certainly looks like an evil god.

When talking about the character, he definately has a good idea.  He compares him to a bunch of Shakespearean characters, as being this conniving sorceror.  This sounds great, and I always thought of Loki as being more like Iago from Othello.  His true menace has nothing to do with socerery.  Its all about his ability to deceive, to send characters to their demise without actually raising his blade.  Thats just awesome.

 The other interview was with the co-writer of the script, Ashley Miller.  Now this was a great interview.  The highlight of the interview was when Miller said she came close to putting in Frog Thor.  So it looks like she really knows her Thor stuff.  But she really tried to make Thor a fighter.  Not “dark”, but gritty.  Seeing Thor take a pounding, and then fighting back.  Apparently, theres going to be blood and grime and all that good stuff.  Everything about the interview sounded great, and I think i think im looking forward to this movie more than any other comic book adaptation, Batman 3 included.