UPDATED: Natalie Portman may be the female lead in Thor - Could she be Loki?

There has been quite a bit of movement recently on the Marvel Studios' Thor film. It is being directed by Kenneth Branagh but the recent news has been on who will play Thor. S

Nikki Finke has posted a few names who have tested for the part of Thor and / or Loki.Josh Hartnett was rumoured to play the big bad Loki, but what if he was also testing for Thor? I don't think he has got the charisma needed to carry off the part of the Thunder God, neither does he have the slyness needed for Loki. Although his turn on stage as Iago in Othello is meant to be the reason why Branagh spoke to him. If that is the case then Iago and Loki have pretty much the same relationship with the respective leads.

Nikki then goes on to list other, lesser known actors, who have tested for the lead role - Charlie Hunnam (the British co-star of the F/X series Sons Of Anarchy); Tom Hiddleston (award-winning British actor and RADA graduate who played Winston Churchill's son in HBO's The Gathering Storm), Alexandar Skarsgard (Stellan's son who has appeared in the HBO Iraq War miniseries Generation Kill and vampire drama True Blood, and who's definitely visually right for the role), Liam Hemsworth (offered a significant role in The Expendables after Sly Stallone saw his tape), and Joel Kinnaman (some Swedish-American dude).

That's all well and good about Thor, but there is a small part of the post that mentions Natalie Portman is in the lead for the female lead. In my mind this is a bit out of left field.

This Thor film is meant to follow the early years of Thor in Asgard so I assume Natalie, if she is cast, would be playing either Amora the Enchantress (who is one of Thor's rogues gallery) or Sif, Thor's wife (in the middle image above she certainly has Portman's look). The final option could possibly someone on Earth. Maybe Jane Foster, a nurse who helps Dr Donald Black (Thor's alter ego).

I personally think it will be the part of Sif (which could be a rebrand of Cif which was rebrand of Jif...damn you SyFy for confusing me), purely based on the fact the film will mainly be set in Asgard and Sif has dark hair. Not a precise reason but at least it is a reason.

Do you feel Natalie Portman will be good as the female lead in Thor? Out of the actors mentioned who would be the best Thor or is there someone not on the list who should play the part?

UPDATE: I totally forgot that in the recent Thor reboot, Loki had decided to take the form of a woman (in the picture on the left). Could Natalie Portman possibly be down to play the Trickster God?

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Has Captain America been cast?

First Showing recently interviewed Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers, Tin Man) about his new film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. However, at the end of the interview it got really interesting.

I asked him about what he's doing next, as part of a question about what he looks for in scripts. And at the last second, he said that, "I think it's time for me to go back to playing some of the really good guys who can get the job done, like Captain America, maybe." I immediately asked him if that was a hint, and his response was even more confusing.

What do you make of that? Still very much a rumour but do you think McDonough is right for Captain America? Could he lead the Avengers?

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Thor Casting News - He has not been cast. That is the news.

We all know Kenneth Branagh is going to direct Marvel's Thor feature. Now news is out on what the character will go through during the film as well as the look they are going for.

Corona Coming Attractions have posted the following call for a Thor lead:

“Male MUST BE MID-LATE 20′S and SIX FEET OR TALLER. LEAD.

Physically powerful, very handsome, occasionally egotistical, petulant,
and wild. A natural warrior with a quick charming wit who must be genuinely and
sever[e]ly humbled before becoming the compassionate, mature hero of our
film.”

Having Thor in his mid 20s seems a little young to me, but it is an origin tale and will supposedly mainly be set in Asgard so may well deal with his early life. It may even be a young lead and then a slightly older actor playing the same part. That's pure speculation on my part. However, it does tell us a bit more as to what will happen in the film.

Kevin McKidd (Dog Soldiers, Rome, Journeyman) has long been rumoured for the part but going from the age thing then he doesn't fit. Bit of a shame as I think he'd be great in the part.

Kind of reminds me of comedian Rich Hall's take on all Tom Cruise films (I'm not saying Tom Cruise has any involvement with this film).

He was a Thunder God. A pretty good Thunder God, until he had a crisis of confidence and can't make Thunder any more. Then he meets a good looking woman who talks him into being a better Thunder God.

The simplest solution is just get a load of actors together and see which one can lift Mjöllnir. Problem solved.

Are there any actors that spring to mind that you could see portraying Thor as described here?

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Lestrade cast in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movie

Digital Spy have the news that Hancock villain Eddie Marsan has been cast opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes.

Marsan will portray Inspector Lestrade, a Scotland Yard detective and ally of Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s revamped story of the Baker Street sleuth.

The actor, whose credits also include Happy-Go-Lucky, Miami Vice and Mission: Impossible III, said: “I’m doing Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. I play Inspector Lestrade. Holmes describes him as a man with no imagination.”

Speaking to DS about how the movie will differ from previous incarnations, Marsan added:

“Holmes and Watson are a lot younger, bohemian. It works. Reading the script, Robert Downey Jr. is just perfect for a modern-day Holmes. Also he’s a bit of totty, as well!”

What do you think to that casting news?

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Nemesis The Warlock to be a Movie...maybe?

That's right, the Arch Deviant, Nemesis the Warlock, from 2000AD is rumoured to be in the works to be movified by the people from Tasdo Productions. Apparantly screenwriter, P. Ben Edwards (Still Life), has said they're in the process of nailing down the script but their is still a long way to go. "I'd love to get Christopher Walken as Torquemada", but casting has yet to be done.

This is great news (although does sound a bit vague and, as they say, a long long way away).

I've always been a big fan of 2000AD characters and something like Nemesis with the mix of sci-fi and fantasy would be absolutely fantastic. Just seeing the Blitzspear flying through the tubes of Termight would be amazing. Basically Nemesis is an alien who fights to protect other aliens from Torquemada's genocidal tyranny.

I've no idea who I would cast in this. Any ideas? Who'd be the perfect Nemesis, Torquemada, Purity Brown and the mighty ABC Warriors?

Casting Call - Captain America

The recent success of Marvel Studios (Iron Man, Incredible Hulk) means that more of their characters will be heading to the silver screen culminating in an Avengers movie. The next superheroes to be kicking ass are Thor and Captain America. In the comics Cap was recently assassinated and his long thought dead partner, Bucky aka The Winter Soldier, has taken over the shield. However, for the movie they are sticking with a World War II movie with the original Captain America, Steve Rogers.
Recent rumours have said Leonardo DeCaprio is in the lead for the role of Steve Rogers. In my opinion that would be horrible. He just doesn't have the look or, more importantly, the presence that Captain America needs.

So I open the comment boards to you dear readers. Who do you feel would make a worthy Captain America?