Bifrost Bridge, that is.

In the land of interesting developments comes word that Idris Elba will be playing Heimdall in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. I have no value judgment one way or the other, as I know nothing of Mr. Elba’s work. I will say that he better be bringing something mighty to the table, since he’s going to be showing up in two movies that get me excited–Thor and the Losers.

There is, of course, the fact that Mr. Elba is a Black man and Heimdall is Scandinavian. Whatever. Branagh cast Keanu Reeves as Denzel Washington’s brother in Much Ado About Nothing. All “he could be a step-brother” equivocating aside, the casting didn’t bother me a bit, any more than I would have been bothered by an East Indian Aragorn or a Thai King Arthur. These are mythical figures, as in not real. Seriously, who gives a fig over skin colour? I only care about acting calibre.

In fact, you get me a good enough actor, and I can easily ignore ethnicity. Graham Greene as John A MacDonald? I’m all for it. Ahn Sung-Gi as John F. Kennedy? In a second. Chow Yun (motherfuckin’) Fat as Colin Powell? Sold!

According to the Production Weekly twitter account, Thor begins filming in mid-January. The filming apparently will last until late April, and the locations are listed as Los Angeles and Santa Fe. Not much to chew on, but it’s nice to hear that things are heading for that first practical step, the one that leads to something coming to our theatres.

The release date for the movie is May 20, 2011, and that’s a long darn time for me to wait for my live action Thor.

Kenneth Branagh, don’t fail me now.

Too obscure?

It seems that Sir Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs, Remains of the Day, Howards of the End) will play Odin in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. While awesome, I am somewhat disheartened that Brian Blessed did not get the role.

Now, Blessed would be the absolute perfect choice for a loud or blustery Odin. I’m sure Hopkins can do loud, but I see him as more of a spare actor. Look at his performances. Even Hannibal Lector is a subdued psychopath.

Did I just write that?

Anyway, I can’t say that Hopkins is a bad choice. I do wish, though, that Blessed had got some love in this one. He’s just so perfect as Odin. And he can do subdued. Just watch his Exeter in Branagh’s Henry V. Really substantial.

In any case, I’m still going to be interested to see how Branagh deals with the Thor/Donald Blake split. For a while, I was expecting him to double cast—give us an actor for Blake and one for Thor. Now I’m wondering if they’ll Doctor Manhattan him and CGI up a bulked out Thor.

Just not the blue penis, please.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting on new additions to the Thor movie. It looks like Colm Feore and Jaimie Alexander will be part of the movie. Ms. Alexander will play Sif. I don’t know who the heck she is, but her photos look like she’s got the right basic look for Sif.

As for Feore, he is absolutely awesome in everything he does. It doesn’t matter if the movie he is in sucks, he’s still great. Let’s hope this movie doesn’t suck. That’d be a pretty amazing trick, given Kenneth Branagh is directing, and he is as close to a god as is possible outside of the Marvel universe.

You can never have enough Natalie Portman. Never.

Well, except in the prequels, for which Lucas deserves a massive kick in the junk.

But I digress. As the universe moves toward perfect harmony, it is only fitting that Natalie Portman be announced as Jane Foster, nurse and love interest of the titular hero of the upcoming movie, Thor. Natalie is hot, smart, and talented. Could there be a better choice?

Now, will we get a Sif?

There’s a rumour going around that the role of Thor in the Marvel movie helmed by Kenneth Branagh has been cast. It’s Chris Hemsworth.

Who?

Oh. Huh.

Now, I was never campaigning for a big guy. We don’t need a wrestler or bodybuilder coming in to play this role. While the Thor of Marvel comics had a steroids ++ body, that’s comics. Every male hero has impossibly huge muscles and every female–hero or not–has impossibly huge breasts. No, there’s no need for ‘Roid Rage Thor ™.

The thing is, I have no idea who this guy is or if he’s got anything to bring to the table. Do I trust Branagh? Generally . . . though he did cast Keanu Reeves as a villain, so there’s a limit.

Were it any other director attached, I’d be lukewarm. I’m moderately excited because it seems they’ve got someone who can act–or at least screen test really, really well. Dude can bulk up a la Hugh Jackman or Christian Bale.

Can I wait until 2010 for a Branagh Thor? I’m going to have to.