Finally some news worth reporting about Marvel Studio’s upcoming Thor movie. Following months of speculation, with the names of big stars and unknowns rising and falling on a flood of rumour, the role of Thor has been given to a relative unknown. According to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, 25 year old Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has won the role of the Norse God of Thunder. If the name is at all familiar, it’s probably because you’ve just experienced J.J. Abrams’ hugely entertaining (if equally implausible) Star Trek reboot: Hemsworth played Kirk's father, George Kirk, and although he only appeared in the sensational opening scenes, these were the most moving and, for me at least, the most memorable moments in the movie.
If you’re an Aussie, you might also know Hemsworth from Home and Away (although I’m an Aussie and not ashamed to admit I didn’t know this) in which he played Kim Hyde for 171 episodes of the long running soap opera about the colourful and improbably good looking residents of Summer Bay, a seaside town somewhere in New South Wales. Running since 1988, the show has had a remarkable cast alumni, including the late great Heath Ledger, the simply great Guy Pearce, Naomi Watts, Dannii Minogue and Julian McMahon.
According to Finke, Hemsworth was approved only after a fortuitous second reading for the part, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige having knocked back the first reading; only through the insistence of Hemsworth’s agent was a second reading arranged, this time taped, and once on film the deal was set. Finke goes into some detail about the casting if you’re interested.
It’s far too early to judge how good the casting of Hemsworth is as we’ve seen so little of his work on the big screen, although his star is certainly rising and we’re about to see a lot more of him. Apparently he's just been cast in the lead of United Artists’s remake of Red Dawn and is currently filming a Joss Whedon horror, Cabin In The Woods. Having said that, Kevin Feige has a good track record of casting well (he made the brilliant call of casting Kenneth Branagh in the directorial role for this movie after all!), and given the controversial selection of Branagh as director for what promises to be a big budget effects laden action extravaganza, I think that Branagh can be trusted to make well considered decisions. Fingers crossed.
Branagh claims to be in “intense pre-production” for the movie at the moment, with filming scheduled to commence in January 2010. A release of 17 June 2011 has been proposed.
Our 
