The God Of Thunder - Thor Movie Thread ***Spoilers***

Looks like we have a director lined up for the movie already:

Director for Thor movie?

The Los Angeles Times has published some interesting, yet unconfirmed bits about a spinoff Silver Surfer movie and the upcoming Thor adaptation:

Feeling bullish on the eve of the release of its "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," Fox has already put a feature spinoff into development that will star the enigmatic Surfer, with J. Michael Straczynski currently crafting the screenplay.

A longtime writer of television science fiction on "The Twilight Zone" and "Babylon 5," Straczynski has also spent much of the last few years writing for Marvel Comics on properties like "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Thor" (also in development with a Mark Protosevich screenplay and "Layer Cake's" Matthew Vaughn reportedly negotiating to direct).

 

Wouldn't this be more of a FFROTSS newsbit then a Thor newsbit?

 

Matthew Vaughn to Direct Thor

Marvel Studios is setting Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, based on the Marvel Comics character. Marvel is aiming for a pre-strike production start this winter.

Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) did the adaptation of the comic book franchise that launched in 1962. Thor is a blonde-tressed, hammer-wielding hero who's sent to Earth to protect mankind.

Vaughn's deal is closing just as Paramount releases the Vaughn-directed Stardust today.

Thor marks Vaughn's second effort at a superhero pic. He was attached to direct X-Men: The Last Stand before bowing out for personal reasons. Vaughn, who produced the Guy Ritchie-directed films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, made his directing debut with the Daniel Craig starrer Layer Cake.

 

I have my doubts about an untra-conservative corporation like FOX doing anything like a decent job with a movie about a non-christian diety.
That it was even mentioned in the Unlimited cartoons was surprizing.

 

It says no where about Fox having the rights to the Thor character. The rights for it are currently owned by Marvel.

 

Exclusive: Vaughn On Thor

?Marvel were so surprised to see this other side of me with Stardust,? recalls Matthew Vaughn of his initial meeting to discuss his vision for the God of Thunder. ?They actually said to me, ?You are going to make Thor more macho? Right?? Well, don?t worry ? Thor?s not going to be wearing a dress".

Eschewing the floral frock and pumps combo is, all things considered, a step in the right direction when conceptualising one of comics? hardest heroes. It?s a leap back on the horse for Vaughn, too, who missed out on his previous chance to assure his place in the comics hall of fame when he walked away from X-Men III.

?When I went into Marvel for my first X-Men meeting, I saw a figure on the desk and said ?are you guys are going to make Thor?? They said, ?We?re just going to commission a script. We want to do it like Gladiator with Norse mythology and the birth of a superhero?. That really stuck in my mind. And when Marvel saw Stardust, they asked me to do it. So here I am, back again and prepping Thor.?

The son of Odin (king of the gods, fond of ravens) and brother to Loki (tricksy, given to practical jokes), The Mighty Thor wields the power of thunder and lightning. Such potency doesn?t lend itself to modesty though, and so it is that Thor is sent to Earth in order to learn some humility. In comic lore, part of this lesson includes a mortal identity (that of disabled medical student Donald Blake) and all recollection of godhood banished from his mind. Word is that Vaughn?s origin tale will touch on none of this, staying firmly in Asgard for the duration, but maybe that?s a good thing. Of all the comic adaptations that have been mooted (and it?s a very long list indeed), few are more potentially fraught than Thor. After all, Hollywood was built on web-slinging vigilantes and men who dress up as bats to pummel villains in makeup, but when your hero is an aeons-old Norse god with a hammer, who speaks in the vernacular of Shakespeare, things could easily veer towards the daft. For his part though, Vaughn does not appear concerned with the potential pitfalls.

?My only concern initially was that it?s another fantasy film [after Stardust], but it?s different in the sense that it?s a superhero film set in the world of fantasy. You?ve got Thor and Odin and it?s set in Asgard - it?s not going to be like Lord of the Rings or even Narnia. I think it?s important to keep it comic book. We?re not doing the Thor of Norse mythology. We?re doing the Marvel Thor.?

 

I don't have a lot of faith here but who am I to say anything. It'll sink or float

 

Ilan Eshkeri to Score Thor

Composer Ilan Eshkeri revealed to Score Notes back in August that he is reteaming with his Layer Cake and Stardust helmer Matthew Vaughn for the big screen Thor adaptation:

I'm looking forward to starting work with Matthew on 'Thor.' The script is really fantastic - I just got a stack of comic books and I'm currently reading all the early stuff! Anyway, and with a bit of luck, there will be some other projects to look out for before the release of 'Thor.'

I haven't heard any of his previous work before. Anyone know about him?

 

Vaughn Wants to Shoot Thor in the UK

Stardust director Matthew Vaughn told the Daily Mail that he wants to shoot comic book adaptation Thor at home in the UK.

"We have the A-list actors, designers, cinematographers and crew in Britain, so there's no need to make 'Thor' among all that madness in Los Angeles," he said.

The newspaper added that, because of the current writers strike in the US, Thor would not start filming until the end of next year.

 

Marvel Studios Sets Four More Release Dates!

Marvel Entertainment released their first quarter report to its shareholders this morning to coincide with the announcement about the success this past weekend of Marvel Studios' first production Iron Man, which grossed an estimated $100.7 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide. The announcement included an update of Marvel Studios' feature film slate with the already-rumored Iron Man 2 announced for a release on April 30, 2010, followed by three more movies for the summers of '10 and '11. Matthew Vaughn's Thor is set for a release on June 4, 2010, and The First Avenger: Captain America (the working title) will kick off the summer of 2011 on May 6, followed by the highly-anticipated and foreshadowed The Avengers scheduled for July 2011. (Edgar Wright'sAnt-Man is also listed as being in development with no release date set.)

With that in mind, one can start expecting a lot more announcements in the coming months about creative teams and casting for those movies including who might direct the Captain America and Avengers movies. (Whomever plays Steve Rogers AKA Captain America presumably will be making two movies at once.)

 

That's pretty damn exciting. I myself wrote a THOR screenplay spec back in the late 80s, just for fun. So being well-acquainted with the character I'm really looking forward to this, and I don't think the areas that seem to trip other people up are going to be a problem at all:

The Shakespearean speech - The dialogue in such films as Lord of the Rings and Shakespeare in Love is the perfect model for how the Asgardians should speak in the THOR film -- with more "thou"s and "thee"s, and use of the word "mine" in place of "my" (when followed by a word that begins with a verb)

The costume - It's basically a fantasy version of the Superman outfit, plus a winged helmet. I've seen convincing paintings of Thor in his original Kirby-designed costume (blue and black with blue chest-disks, red cape, yellow boots) that make it look realistic and quite cool. The trick is to make the disks metal of some kind, like armor.

The casting - Cast an unknown in the part of Thor. I've heard people calling for Sean Bean -- he's too old -- Brad Pitt -- also too old -- and Hayden Christensen -- too reviled in the fan community. IMO the filmmakers need to find a very tall, very powerfully-built man in his early 20s who can pull off Shakespeare. I know this guy is out there somewhere!

 

I disagree about him needing to be in his early twenties - I would like to see more life-experience in Thor's face. I wouldn't mind seeing Josh Holloway in the role.

 

I don't know who Holloway is, but you see, this first film is set entirely in Asgard, during Thor's impetuous and prideful youth. Casting a mature actor would simply not be right for this stage in the Thunder God's development, prior to his banishment to Midgard/Earth by his father.

 

Sawyer on Lost.

 

I love Thor and really looking forward to this film. I also think that Matthew Vaughn is a great choice as a director. He did a near superb job with the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Stardust.

 

Gerard Butler.

Easy.

 

^300

 

Ah. Of course I've seen it, but don't (yet) have the dialogue memorized.

I'm sure Butler would be fine in the role of Thor -- though I'm still hoping for a younger actor, someone in his 20s, to fit the bill of the youthful, prideful, pre-banishment god.

 

Hah! Sez you. I found 300 pretty to look at, and well-acted, but stupefyingly overblown, overwrought, and devoid of true emotion and/or insight into the human condition. It was all blood splatters and masterful CGI action sequences -- which can be fun -- but where's the truth? The beauty? The introspection into the souls of men? Perhaps I missed something with my first and only viewing, but it seemed morally vacant to me, which I will not abide in any film.

As to Butler, I'd rather see him in a new Conan film than as the God of Thunder. I really like him in Phantom of the Opera, though. *shrug*

 

So, Marvel would like Brad Pitt to play Thor...

 

He's too old. Ten years ago, hell yes. Now, eh...