According to the theatrical website whatsonstage.com, Kenneth Branagh has abandoned plans to direct Jude Law in Hamlet to concentrate on the til-now only rumoured film of Marvel comics' Thor.

The tale of the Norse God, who can fly and has a nasty magic hammer to klunk his enemies with, is currently slated for release on 16th July 2010. Previously associated director Mark Vaughan is quoted describing the Thor saga as "the birth of a hero, interweaving Gladiator with Norse mythology."

No one is yet associated yet with the eponymous role, though forums have put forward names as diverse as Karl Urban, Gerard Butler, James Preston Rogers, Alexander Skarsgard, Brad Pitt, Viggo Mortenson, Guy Pearce and Paul Telfer for the role.

Talking to MTV recently, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada expanded on the Shakespearean connection with this particular superhero..

“Out of all our characters, he’s probably the one who’s bigger than life,” Quesada told MTV. “He’s the one who, stature-wise… He’s just huge — and the mythology behind it is huge. But at its core, once you get past the trappings of Thor and all the god-like mythology and the way the character looks and the setting in Asgard and the whole kingdom, once you get past that, it’s really the story of a father and two sons.”

what'sonstage.com