Mads Mikkelsen Is The Villain Of ‘THOR 2’
ShowBlitz reports that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royal, Clash of The Titans, Pusher 2) is in talks with Marvel to take the villain role in Thor 2. The part is unknown but at least we know the villain will be male excluding Hela. My guess is that Mads is likely inline to play Agardians Balder The Brave who is the rightful heir to Odin, former defender of the realms Tyr who was replaced by Thor or dark elf Malekith The Accursed. It’s also possible he could be up for Surtur, Ulik or even Thanos. They also state that Hiddleston (Loki) will be a baddie again. I’m sure Mikkelsen’s viking thriller Valhalla Rising had something to do with his casting.
Who Should Direct Thor 2?
Now that we know that Patty Jenkins, Brian Kirk and Kenneth Branagh aren’t options to direct Thor 2, who could? Previously we’ve seen some names that seem like odd matches before but have turned out great for Marvel Studios like Jon Favreau and Branagh. I think with the production date looming the studio might want to consider a few names. They very well won’t workout because of scheduling issues but I feel these directors could bring something to the table.
RUPERT SANDERS: He’s new to the movie industry but is cutting his teeth with a rather large project currently Snow White And The Huntsman which stars Chris Hemsworth. Rupert already has a working relationship with Hemsworth and seems to be able to handle a project of this size along with it’s budget restrictions. Huntsman features a lot of fantasy aspects that could be interesting seen in a Thor sequel. The humor might be an issue for Sanders since Huntsman looks like it could be a lot more serious than Thor. However, the last film was able to balance between many different emotions and could go darker if need be. While Huntsman will get a June release date between now and then Sanders is likely going to be busy as can be with post-production on the film.
NICOLAS WINDING REFN: Nicolas is film geek gold winning over many with his conceptual eye-popping thriller Drive this year. He’s been itching to make a comic book film being on many people’s list to step in for future Batman films. Not to mention Refn’s own intentions on making a serious Wonder Woman film for Warner Bros. but has yet to be taken up on the offer. Refn has stated his favorite of his own films was Valhalla Rising which featured a one eyed mute Viking slave who was a prize fighter. If Marvel really wanted to go the auteur route Nicolas would be that route. He’s currently shooting another smaller film title Only God Forgives which could easily be edited on the fly. I could see him being able to handle the genre and it’s humor my only concern would be it’s pacing. The only issue could be his in development remake of Logan’s Run could end up being his next project if WB wants it to be.
DUNCAN JONES: He’s been linked as a contender for Man of Steel, The Wolverine and Iron Man 3, the latter more rumor if anything else. Jones is a solid science fiction director his films Moon and Source Code run the gauntlet of emotions which doesn’t often happen in the genre. Thor is equally set in fantasy as it is science fiction which could be explored greatly with Jones behind the camera. He currently doesn’t have a set film on his slate while the others on the list do. Duncan has yet to fully jump into franchise territory and is unlikely to do so without a serious reason to. One of his passion projects Mute has been lacking in financing which could change if he knocked out something like Thor 2. I liken Duncan to Matthew Vaughn early in his career, so I dying to see what he can do with a Marvel property.
Nicolas Winding Refn Born To Make Wonder Woman?
DC Entrainment and Warner Bros. have made some interesting directorial choices in the past. Previously with Christopher Nolan for Batman Begins, Zack Snyder for Watchmen, Neveldine/Taylor for Jonah Hex (before they left) and recently Vincenzo Natali (Splice) for Swamp Thing. Now there is word from a BBC interview that Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Pusher Trilogy) is interested in directing the Wonder Woman film. This could be one of the biggest gutsy moves from the studio if this happens. Refn has one of the best track records in making cool as shit films. If anyone can make a serious film about Wonder Woman it would be Nicolas. He comes from a similar auteur film making sensibility as Nolan and could really pump new life into the character.
“After Valhalla Rising I thought the most surprising thing for me would be to go to Los Angeles and do a studio movie. Coming from a movie where I had complete control — I also own the movie — and had complete, kind of like, accessibility around me, and then going to Hollywood and doing a film within the studio, which is very much the opposite, I thought could be a very interesting experience for me.”
“I guess one of the aims I am having, but at the very early stage, I always wanted to do Wonder Woman as a feature film…Well, I would say that Wonder Woman is probably something that, to me, would be not just a satisfaction, but almost a [catharsis], and I was born to make it.”
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