It’s a Saturday and therefore a slow day because otherwise we might not bother or at least see where this one lands or nets out, but AICN is reporting that in a German issue of GQ, actor Matthias Schweighöfer (“Valkyrie,” “Red Baron”) is claiming Robert DeNiro and Jude Law have joined the cast of Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor” in some unknown capacity. Apparently the actor is vying for a role in the Marvel comics live-action film adaptation and this is how he’s privy to this so-called knowledge, but we’d file it strictly under rumor for now.
We found a interview with Schweighöfer in German GQ and there was no mention of DeNiro, Law or “Thor,” but it appears to be old so no dice. DeNiro worked with Branagh in the 1994 version of “Frankenstein” and the British actor/ filmmaker was set to direct Law as Hamlet onstage this summer but then dropped out a year ago specifically because of his Marvel commitments to “Thor.” One could speculate that this is Branagh trying to make things right, but again, that’s just conjecture and we won’t really know until there’s an official announcement.
Still if it turns out to be true, it would seem that Branagh is treating “Thor” as seriously as Nolan did “The Dark Knight,” which would never be a bad thing and probably necessary. You likely couldn’t pull off a Thor film with the light humorist tone of say, “Iron Man.” Not all geeks are sold on Branagh helming “Thor,” but to us it’s the most interesting of the Marvel film ideas so far.
