Rene Russo Joins Thor

Published on December 17, 2009 by Martyn Conterio · View Comments

2350l By Zeus’ beard, it seems Rene Russo – one of Hollywood’s leading ladies of the 1990s – has joined the cast of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. Even more interesting is her character name: Frigga. She will be playing Thor’s stepmother and wife to Odin (Anthony Hopkins).

This particular Marvel venture begins shooting next month for a release in May 2011. Nobody ever expected Shakespeare-obsessed Branagh to be making a comic book adaptation. Is this part of the charm? His occasional forays into Hollywood in the past have been either disasterous or middle-brow. Perhaps the studio trust him with the grand theatrics.

Thor sees himself kicked out of Asgard after re-starting an ancient feud and goes to Earth in order to stop his nefarious and scheming brother Loki from taking over our planet. Branagh is an amazing visualist (just see Hamlet) so expect his Hollywood blockbuster to look stunning. Add a Patrick Doyle score, which will be positively Wagner-esque, and this could be the surprise hit of 2011.

Russo is joining an already amazing cast, including: Natalie Portman, Stuart Townsend, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgaard and (rumour only) Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (again!). It’s been a long while since Russo appeared in a big movie such as Thor. It’s a welcome return.