Kenneth Branagh to direct Thor

[Keyser Soze]

I watched the first episode/movie and found it so depressing that I haven't brought myself to watch the other two yet. It's like Branagh and/or the writer of the Wallander books deliberately set out to crush your soul with the tone of the stories.

Believe it or not, the first episode is the upbeat one.

I was about ready to slit my wrists by episode 3.

 

[Triad]

Just watched Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets again last night. Branagh cracked me up as Profs. Gilderoy Lockhart! "Three time winner of the Witches Weekly 'Most Charming Smile' award!"

I know that it isn't a very popular notion and that he has stated that he doesn't plan on acting in the Thor movie, but I wouldn't be opposed to him playing Donald Blake. As long as it is a very small portion of the movie. (Perhaps at the end?) I'm with everyone else that thinks that the majority of it should be about the Asgardian mythology. My worry is that it has already been announced that Natalie Portman is playing Jane Foster. I love her work, but I hope that doesn't mean the modern world will be more of a focus in the movie considering her status as an semi-"A list" actress.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Supposedly the movie is 30% set in the modern world.

 

[Mad Ones]

I really liked the Hamlet movie he starred in and directed. That's what makes me think he's a great pick to direct Thor.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I just hope Thor ain't 4 hours long. I'm as big a fan of the character as anyone, but I don't think even I could sit through a 4-hour opus on him.

 

[Mad Ones]

Haha, Hamlet was crushingly long. But that was in order to include everything from the play. I think it would be no problem to make Thor into a normal sized movie, and I don't think Marvel would even let him make a movie that long.

 

[Chewy]

If Marvel wouldn't let Ed Norton have a 2 hour Hulk movie they won't let Kenneth Branagh make a four hour Thor movie

 

[TheCorpulent1]

2 hours I can deal with. Over that, you're in risky territory. I mention length because people keep comparing a Thor movie to the LotR movies, and those were closer to 3 hours each, even before the extended editions.

 

[Mad Ones]

I have no problem with long movies, because they allow a movie to have a more epic tone and better developed characters, but I think it would be wiser to have the first movie be around two hours or under.

 

[kedrell]

If Marvel wouldn't let Ed Norton have a 2 hour Hulk movie they won't let Kenneth Branagh make a four hour Thor movie

But TIH was about 2hrs long.

 

[Venom'sDad]

2hrs & 20min is the max for me.

 

[Triad]

The Dark Knight didn't feel it's length, IMHO.

 

[Paradox1]

Thats cause the Dark Knight was two plus hours of pure awesomeness

 

[JeetKuneDo]

The Dark Knight didn't feel it's length, IMHO.

It did to me. It felt like Spider-Man 3...too many stories...not enough time to develop them...and still feels long. Every time Ledger wasn't onscreen I was checking my watch. I hope its success at the box office doesn't translate into the other comic book movies copying it.

 

[kedrell]

It did feel about 15 min. too long to me. Either save the Dent stuff for the 3rd film(using TDK as a set-up for that) or have a less ambitious script.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

It did to me. It felt like Spider-Man 3...too many stories...not enough time to develop them...and still feels long. Every time Ledger wasn't onscreen I was checking my watch. I hope its success at the box office doesn't translate into the other comic book movies copying it.

The Reese subplot was totally unnecessary.

 

[kedrell]

^As was going to China.

 

[zeptron]

I don't mind really long movies as long parts don't seem to drag on. With as many characters The Dark Knight the length was pretty necessary IMO.

Did TF2, King Kong, Superman Returns, and POTC 3 really need to be that long? Hell in King Kong, Kong himself doesn't even show up until an hour in the movie.

 

[Triad]

Agreed, Kong could have been a lot better if they cut 20 - 30 minutes out of it. I don't think anything could have saved SMR & TF2, though.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

^As was going to China.

At least that part was spectacular.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I get bored with TDK after Joker's escape from the MCU now. Maybe because I've watched it too many times.

 

[Sarg92]

Guys, I wanna know how you would have felt if Louis Leterrier was directing this film.

He said that Marvel did offer him the film but he turned it down because he didn't grow up reading the comics of the character and he felt that he wasn't the right man to bring it to the silver screen.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Sounds like he has a lot of respect for the characters if he turned it down due to a lack of familiarity with Thor. I don't know if that would necessarily translate into doing a good job after researching Thor, though.

 

[kedrell]

I have a lot of respect for Leterrier. He seems to be a class act like Favreau is.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, we seem to have been pretty lucky lately. Favreau and Leterrier clearly love the material, I remember reading Robert Downey, Jr. did a ton of research and really got into the Iron Man character, and now Branagh is actually using the resources Marvel's comic offices can offer for Thor.