Monday, July 13, 2009

Portman to Get Her Hands on a Thunder God's Hammer!

The above headline was the most entendre-ridden one I could come up with to report the news coming from Marvel Studios that Natalie Portman has signed on to play the female lead in Thor.

The Academy Award nominated actress is the latest to join director Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comics character. She joins Chris Hemsworth, who plays the title role, and Tom Hiddleston, who is playing Thor's evil half-brother Loki.


Portman
is playing Jane Foster, a character that appeared in the early issues of the Thor comic series as a love interest for both Thor and his human alter-ego Dr. Donald Blake. In the comic, Jane Foster was a nurse but presumably this will be updated to a Doctor herself, especially as another rumour suggests that the chracter of Don Blake is not appearing in the film.


When
she's not working with George Lucas, and therefore not reduced to wooden emoting while spitting out some of the worst dialogue in the history of film, she's always been great. Marvel has been pretty ambitous with their casting, going for bold, interesting choices; giving some unknowns a good break alongside some really quirky and well-cast heavy hitters. I started off being unsure about Thor working as a film, but with this director, and the cast he's creating, and the rumoured more fantasy, Lord of the Rings-like tone, I'm quickly getting sold.

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