Los Angeles (E! Online) - Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice…unless Thor's around, that is.
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The hammer-tossing superhero is the latest star from the comic-book vault to get in line for big-screen treatment, with Marvel Studios lining up British auteur Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, based on the Stan Lee-created character.
Marvel is hoping to get production in progress by this winter. Mark Protosevich, whose latest project was the apocalyptic Will Smith thriller I Am Legend, will pen the screenplay.
As laid out in the 1962 comics franchise The Mighty Thor, the Norse god of thunder and war is sent by his father Odin to inhabit the body of mere mortal Dr. Donald Blake, in order to teach the arrogant lad some humility. Once Odin is satisfied that his son has learned his lesson, Thor no longer requires a regular-guy alter ego and can be counted on to save the world from the inevitable variety of humanity-threatening evil-doers.
Describing the thought process that went into creating Thor 40-some years ago, Lee wrote in his 2002 autobiography Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee:
"I wanted to come up with something totally different. I thought it would fun to invent someone as powerful as, or perhaps even more powerful than, the Incredible Hulk. But how do you make someone stronger than the strongest human? It finally came to me: Don't make him human—make him a god."
There's no word yet on who might be asked to wear the winged helmet, but as is the case when Hollywood utters the words "superhero" or "sci-fi," the blogs are already atwitter with suggestions.
"This pretty much has Josh Holloway written all over it," wrote IceTruckDexter on cinematical.com, while others suggested Matthew McConaughey, Jason Mewes (must be a hair thing), New Zealand-born actor Karl Urban (lately an assassin in The Bourne Supremacy) and, of course, Vincent D'Onofrio, who memorably played a beefy mechanic who was mistaken for Thor in Adventures in Babysitting in 1987.
Hopes are high, especially considering the sleight of hand Marvel Studios displayed in casting its other upcoming additions to the comic-book-film canon, The Incredible Hulk, due out June 13, 2008, and Iron Man, slated for a May 2 release.
Edward Norton is suiting up as the volatile Dr. Bruce Banner for the not-quite-a-sequel to Ang Lee's Hulk, and Liv Tyler plays love interest Betty Ross. Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson are also on hand to up the action flick's dramatic pedigree.
Former Swinger Jon Favreau's take on Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. as the metallically-enhanced hero, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson and Hilary Swank rounding out the supporting cast.
Thor will be only the third trip behind the camera for Vaughn, who made his directing debut with 2004's heist romp Layer Cake, and whose second film, the fantasy-adventure Stardust, starring Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, comes out Friday.
The London native also produced the Guy Ritchie-directed films Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Swept Away, with an emphasis on the first two.
ADVERTISEMENT
The hammer-tossing superhero is the latest star from the comic-book vault to get in line for big-screen treatment, with Marvel Studios lining up British auteur Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, based on the Stan Lee-created character.
Marvel is hoping to get production in progress by this winter. Mark Protosevich, whose latest project was the apocalyptic Will Smith thriller I Am Legend, will pen the screenplay.
As laid out in the 1962 comics franchise The Mighty Thor, the Norse god of thunder and war is sent by his father Odin to inhabit the body of mere mortal Dr. Donald Blake, in order to teach the arrogant lad some humility. Once Odin is satisfied that his son has learned his lesson, Thor no longer requires a regular-guy alter ego and can be counted on to save the world from the inevitable variety of humanity-threatening evil-doers.
Describing the thought process that went into creating Thor 40-some years ago, Lee wrote in his 2002 autobiography Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee:
"I wanted to come up with something totally different. I thought it would fun to invent someone as powerful as, or perhaps even more powerful than, the Incredible Hulk. But how do you make someone stronger than the strongest human? It finally came to me: Don't make him human—make him a god."
There's no word yet on who might be asked to wear the winged helmet, but as is the case when Hollywood utters the words "superhero" or "sci-fi," the blogs are already atwitter with suggestions.
"This pretty much has Josh Holloway written all over it," wrote IceTruckDexter on cinematical.com, while others suggested Matthew McConaughey, Jason Mewes (must be a hair thing), New Zealand-born actor Karl Urban (lately an assassin in The Bourne Supremacy) and, of course, Vincent D'Onofrio, who memorably played a beefy mechanic who was mistaken for Thor in Adventures in Babysitting in 1987.
Hopes are high, especially considering the sleight of hand Marvel Studios displayed in casting its other upcoming additions to the comic-book-film canon, The Incredible Hulk, due out June 13, 2008, and Iron Man, slated for a May 2 release.
Edward Norton is suiting up as the volatile Dr. Bruce Banner for the not-quite-a-sequel to Ang Lee's Hulk, and Liv Tyler plays love interest Betty Ross. Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson are also on hand to up the action flick's dramatic pedigree.
Former Swinger Jon Favreau's take on Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. as the metallically-enhanced hero, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson and Hilary Swank rounding out the supporting cast.
Thor will be only the third trip behind the camera for Vaughn, who made his directing debut with 2004's heist romp Layer Cake, and whose second film, the fantasy-adventure Stardust, starring Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, comes out Friday.
The London native also produced the Guy Ritchie-directed films Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Swept Away, with an emphasis on the first two.
I'm not sure he has the presence, even if he does have the look.
