Never really a big Thor fan but Marvel are on a roll at the mo...

I'm going to make a confession. Back when the news first hit that Kenneth Branagh was going to direct Marvel's Thor, I pessimistically wrote that "Branagh seems like the worst choice to direct a comic book movie since Joel Schumacher." Now that I've seen Valkyrie, however, my opinion has changed. Watching Branagh act in that film has made me change my opinion about him. Maybe it was just the lingering sour taste of Sleuth that made me so opposed to Branagh, but for whatever reason, watching him in Valkyrie made me slightly more confident. Since the news first broke in September, Branagh has been keeping quiet about the project, but MTV finally got him to break down and talk about directing "The Mighty Thor."

No, the title hasn't changed, as Branagh clarifies, "I think it will be Thor." So why did he want to direct a high profile comic book movie? "To work on a story about one of the immortals, Gods, extraordinary beings, inter-dimensional creatures," he told MTV. "There's science fiction and science fact and fantasy all woven into one. It's based on Norse legends which Marvel sort of raided in a brilliant way." And for those, like me, who are skeptical about the scale of the project and Branagh being able to handle it, he emphasizes that, "it's a chance to tell a big story on a big scale. It's a human story right in the center of a big epic scenario." Sounds like he at least understands the monumental task that he is taking on.

As for who will play Norse God of Thunder, aka Thor, Branagh wouldn't even hint as to who it might be, but he did give us this tease: "There's been lots of talk [about casting]… but we are too early at this stage. We're getting the story and the visual effects together and all of that is very exciting. Someone sensational is going to play the part but it is early days." Either he's really good at keeping things under wraps or they really haven't chosen anyone yet. Considering Marvel has Thor set to hit theaters on July 16th, 2010, Branagh better get to work quickly on finalizing these sort of details, as they're probably planning to shoot early next year. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to see another great Marvel movie!