Kenneth Branagh Pursued The Thor Directors Chair

Kenneth Branagh Pursued The Thor Directors Chair

Ever wondered how a Director like Ken Branagh wound up directing a Marvel CBM? Kevin Feige explains..

News
By MarkCassidy - Aug 05, 2010 12:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Thor
Source: mtvsplashpage.com

It was certainly a surprise(for most a pleasant one) when Kenneth Branagh was announced as the Thor director. A man known primarily for Shakespearean adaptations and his love for the theater. Sure Thor would lend itself to some aspects, but any CBM just wouldn't have seemed to fit his MO.

While taking to MTV, Kevin Feige revealed that it was Branagh himself that pursued the gig..




"He chased it pretty hard," said Feige. "We had a number of good meetings, he flew himself over to meet with me, [and] we had a number of phone calls, a number of sessions — more meetings than I’ve had ever had with a director before we’d brought them on.

"He’s a big, giant Thor fan, he clearly is a very literate guy when it comes to Shakespeare and when it comes to almost anything, including Marvel’s Thor, which was a surprise to us."

"Also, just talking about movies, we love the same kind of movies, we love the same kind of things and when you have someone who’s as talented as Ken is in one arena and bring him into another one, he is going to succeed, we have the department heads, we have the great resources to help him what he brings to us is bringing our characters to life in a big way."

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thunderforce
thunderforce - 8/5/2010, 1:13 PM
Whatever you marvel guys are doing just keep doing it but make the battles a bit longer they are the best parts . Iron man and iron man 2 the battles were too short and need to be stepped up a bit , dont make that a trend please .
DCMarvelFreshman
DCMarvelFreshman - 8/5/2010, 1:14 PM
Just beat me to it..haha. Sweet find Ror!

God I hope this movie does well, there are still many doubts from that trailer. But I'm not gonna judge until I see an official trailer....well the movie.
loganoneil
loganoneil - 8/5/2010, 1:14 PM
Giggity-giggity goo! Screw Team Edward and Team Jacob - I'M for Team Kenneth!
ManThing
ManThing - 8/5/2010, 1:29 PM
Branagh is a class act, no doubt.
selinakyle
selinakyle - 8/5/2010, 1:31 PM
"He’s a big, giant Thor fan, he clearly is a very literate guy when it comes to Shakespeare and when it comes to almost anything, including Marvel’s Thor, which was a surprise to us."

This is the kind of passion most directors should have not "how do i make this the biggest blockbuster ever".
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 8/5/2010, 1:40 PM
BRANAGH = EPIC!!!

Its a [frick]ing pity we got [frick]ing WHEDON on AVENGERS!

We needed BRANAGH!
RockNRollCC
RockNRollCC - 8/5/2010, 1:41 PM
I found an awesome theme for Thor:

claybo4131
claybo4131 - 8/5/2010, 1:46 PM
I admit I was surprised when Kenneth was chosen to direct it, but when it came out that he was a huge Thor fan, knew his material, and seeing how he acted at Comic Con, it seemed the fans liked that he directed it and he seemed more proud to do this than any of his Shakespeare stuff. Nothing wrong with Shakespeare, actually the dialogue in Shakespeare was similar to Thor and it helped me get through it in HS, but when the actors say they loved working with him and he knew what he was doing, I trust that Kenneth just directed his masterpiece
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 8/5/2010, 1:48 PM
Very interesting find ROR! I'd actually always been curious about why Marvel Studios decided to choose a guy like Branagh for director. Judging by the recently released trailer, they made the right choice!
unscrew
unscrew - 8/5/2010, 1:52 PM
Amon Amarth for the theme song!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz-ExsTjafQ]
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 8/5/2010, 2:00 PM
Ckal, I know, thats just their style, they release the info bit by bit. I hadn't seen this though, so regardless of how old the actual interview is, its news that Branagh pursued the role.

Josh, that Thor footage, although very good, wasn't QUITE what I was hoping for. But, I'm sire once teh movie comes out it will be epic.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
ThunderCougarFalconBird - 8/5/2010, 2:23 PM
DC have Nolan and Goyer, Marvel have Branagh and Favs. [frick] it's a good time for the genre!
MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 8/5/2010, 2:34 PM
Rock and Roll. This means he has a vision for the character. Very positive.
BillyBlack
BillyBlack - 8/5/2010, 3:06 PM
Nice pick up Ror.

BTW your new avatar photo is killin me bro! hahahah

It's the wine glasses. It must've been a saucy year for the Beaujolais!

If I can't get you to share a glass of Jameson's with me before my time comes, I'll consider my life a failure.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 8/5/2010, 3:37 PM
haha, cheesy as frakk ain't it? I also have a big sun burned face.

Yes, a glass of the finest Irish Whiskey must happen! I'm looking into Comic con next year with a few of the other Brits/Irish/Scots from here, any chance you could make it? For me its really not set in stone, but I'll certainly try my best.

Oh and I did a BSG article about Starbuck and how the series ended in case you missed it, should be a bit down under the news tab.
RedDevil
RedDevil - 8/5/2010, 4:03 PM
DC= Nolan and Campbell and Goyer= Skillz and Perfection!
MARVEL= Kenneth and Joe Johnston and Fav= Masterfully Executed directing!
BillyBlack
BillyBlack - 8/5/2010, 4:45 PM
HAhaHah Awesome

Thanks Ror! I just read your Starbuck article! SO Ron Moore managed to sum up... NOTHING!! HAhaHaHAH!!

Yeah, I just picked up the entire series on bluray, so I will be re-watching at some point. When I've had the time to sit down and digest the entire series again I will be hitting you up to revisit our BSG conversation.

Next year's con is certainly possible as I only live about a 6 hour drive (1.5 hour flight) from San Diego. I'm also planning a trip to Denmark next summer, with possible stops in England and the emerald isle. If that comes to fruition, I will definitely be looking you up so you can show me what's down in Dublin. ;)
DDD
DDD - 8/5/2010, 4:56 PM
Ron@ agree totally!

And we the comic fans are reaping the benefits of
these incredible independent-type directors/writers!

Nolan, Favreau, Branagh, Goyer, Snyder!!!

The Independents care about the movie/art first, the
money second! They know..."IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL
COME"!!!
Deadpool813
Deadpool813 - 8/5/2010, 6:20 PM
It's funny just last night I saw Mary Shelley's Frankenstein! LOL! I never knew who this guy was until last night!! LOL!!!
jjmeylar
jjmeylar - 8/5/2010, 6:58 PM
This just shows that ANYBODY could be a closet geek. We just need to get them to come out of the closet. :p
HULK2099
HULK2099 - 8/5/2010, 10:44 PM
He would be great to do doctor strange
Flagg
Flagg - 8/6/2010, 5:24 AM
I hope he's had a good time directing Thor and will be willing to return for the sequels.
ORION
ORION - 8/6/2010, 9:27 AM
What Bababoozer said.
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