In a German GQ interview with Matthias Schweighöfer (Valkyrie), the actor reportedly (we haven’t seen a copy of the issue and the news hasn’t been published online) announced he’s in the running for a role in Thor, whilst revealing that Robert De Niro and Jude Law have also been cast. The rumor was originally posted to AICN.

I’ve classified this as rumor for now, there’s no hard proof and the article might well have been mistranslated. However, both Law and De Niro have worked with Thor director Kenneth Branagh in the past, which gives some credence to the claims.

Which characters would these actors play?

In other casting news, Stan Lee has confirmed to Collider that he’ll be taking up his cameo role for Thor, though he doesn’t yet know the details.

SpoilerTV has posted a casting call for the Thor movie, asking for

[WARRIORS] A fearless warrior race, where size, strength and ferocity define a member’s rank in both the social and military hierarchy. Warriors born in this society face the harshest ecological conditions imaginable and thrive in environments where lesser creatures, including humans, quickly perishes. Theirs is a world created to cull weakness from the universe to ensure their supreme sovereignty spreads across the stars. MUST BE 6′2 OR TALLER sptv050769, NO BODYBUILDER TYPES. SAG ROLE BUT NO LINES. MUST BE COMFORTABLE WEARING PROSTHETICS.

Cinematical speculate that this is a casting call for the Skrulls,

You can’t really get any more militaristic and conquest driven than these guys, and one definitely needs prosthetics to pull them off. But what the heck would Skrulls be doing in Thor? Even Loki hasn’t had much to do with those creeps until recently. The obvious answer would be to have them come in and set up The Avengers, but with two villains and two love interests, you’d think there was enough crazy to go around. Anyone out there have a better guess as to who our prosthetic-heavy warriors might be?

Fans have also suggested they could be the Kree, a warrior race that have reached their evolutionary peak or Frost Giants. However, another rightfully points out, it is likely they will just be Asgardian extras.

Stellan Skarsgård’s son, Alexander, was originally considered as a strong candidate for the Thor role, but in the end lost out to Star Trek man Chris Hemsworth. Swedish site Ystads Allehanda report that Stellan has been cast in the movie, but his role is deeply secretive. So secretive in fact, the studio wanted the actor to sign without reading the script; he refused until he received a copy (albeit an encoded version).

Thor has recruited two more cast members, Jaimie Alexander (Kyle XY) and Colm Feore (Face/Off). Jaimie Alexander will play Sif, an Asgardian warrior that can, “hold her own against any man”. She’s also one of Thor’s loves and spends a lot of her time searching for him. She is skilled in hand to hand combat and the use of melee weapons. Colm Feore will play an unknown villain, the details of which are being kept a tight-lipped secret.

Jaimie Alexander

Colm Feore

Back in March we commented on the possibility that Natalie Portman might play a “strong female lead” in the Thor movie adaptation.

An official statement from Marvel reports that Natalie Portman has been cast as Jane Foster, Donald Blake’s nurse. With such a big casting set in present day planet Earth, it’s possible that a good proportion of the movie may take place here, rather than Asgard – giving us a lot of the human version of Thor.

Marvel comments,

Even the Mighty Thor can be thunderstruck by affairs of the heart!

Marvel Studios announced today that Academy Award® nominated actress Natalie Portman has been cast to star as Jane Foster in the studio’s highly anticipated movie “Thor.”

In the early “Thor” comics, Jane Foster was a nurse who became Thor’s first love. The character will be updated for the feature adaptation.

Portman will star opposite Chris Hemsworth who will play Thor and Tom Hiddleston who will play the villain Loki. Kenneth Branagh will direct the film.

Marvel Studios expands its film universe with a new type of super hero: “Thor.” This epic adventure spans the Marvel Universe; from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Thanks Leroy!

Chief Marvel editor, Joe Quesada, has answered some more question on the regular Cup ‘O Joe column, this time pertaining to Thor and Iron Man 2.

On Thor

Quesada talks with great passion about Branagh and Kevin Feige’s creative partnership, and the delight it was to watch them explore the Thor ideas and mythology. His approach to the Thor franchise is Shakespearean, explaining emotions between characters in each scene, their motivation and how it relates to the movie’s plot.

Character development looks like it shall play a significant part in the Thor adaptation, Quesada describes this quality as “quintessential” in creating a Marvel movie. There are capes and big hammers, but, “It’s about what makes characters tick”. And Quesada adds, “there’s reasons and motivations for him to hit people with his hammer… hard!”

When it comes to marketing Thor, it’s all about raising awareness before the movie’s release. Similar to the Iron Man approach, Thor’s character shall be introduced to kids through animation, in particular in “Super Hero Squad” and “Avengers Animated”.

On Iron Man 2

Quesada describes Favreau as intense and cerebral, and is again happy to relay the director’s understanding and passion for the Tony Stark character, “Why put on the suit?”. Favreau’s approach is about having the world’s most powerful weapon and making the story bigger, all the while keeping it “streamlined” and ultimately maintaining that much needed relevance at the personal level.

MTV are reporting that Star Trek and Crank: High Voltage actor Clifton Collins Jr. is in talks for a role in the Thor adaptation:

“I had a little meeting. I think I can say that much. [...] ['Thor' director] Kenneth Branagh is a bad-ass. I’ve been a fan of his as an actor and I know he’s gonna be amazing as a director for this piece.”

“Believe me, I’m itching to say all kinds of stuff,”

[...]

“It’s going to be a beautiful thing, I’m sure,” said Collins. “It’s an amazing comic book. If you grew up reading these comic books, he was definitely a bad-ass, that guy.”

No word yet on the character he might play.

Continuing on from the recent Kevin Feige revelations, First Showing have provided a second commentary of the event, which offers up some more details of these three movies.

Iron Man 2

In the first movie the film makers managed to get the tone just right, for the sequel they are looking to add characters and up the action whilst maintaining this tone – keeping the right sense of humour. Filming is half way through and the majority of the spoken parts are complete, the next six weeks shall be dedicated to action scenes!

Thor

There will be no Shakespearean dialogue in the Thor movie, despite its usage in the comics. Some scenes will take place in Asgard.

Captain America

The first avenger movie shall be a period piece, set predominantly during WWII. It is hoped that the movie can capture a feeling similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark, with the same levels of fun. Sidekick Bucky (wiki) will also make an appearance, in some capacity.

As for director Joe Johnston,

A little bit of The Rocketeer, lots of October Sky, and a little bit of the ship designs that Johnston did for Star Wars, alluding to how this is the perfect movie for him to direct. “It’s the movie his entire career has been leading towards.”