We recently reported about ‘Thor’ director Kenneth Branagh’s departure from the planned sequel ‘Thor 2’ and ‘Thor’ lead Christopher Hemsworth’s reaction to his departure here.
Even though by all accounts Marvel was very happy with the results of the first film, it has grossed $447 million so far, the studio didn’t waste any time looking for another director for the sequel. According to Variety, Marvel had considered Drew Goddard (‘Cabin in the Woods’), James McTeigue (‘Ninja Assassin’), Noam Murro (‘300: Battle of Artemesia’) and Breck Eisner (‘The Crazies’), but are now pursuing Brian Kirk.
Although this would be Kirk’s first feature film, he is a seasoned television director with a number of high profile television series under his belt including: ‘The Riches’, ‘Murphy’s Law’ (featuring the excellent James Nesbitt of ‘Jekyll’ and the upcoming ‘The Hobbit’ films), ‘Dexter’, ‘Luther’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. Considering that a new ‘Thor’ film will probably have many different types of possible settings, Kirk’s versatility is probably a big factor in the decision.
‘Thor’ writer Don Payne (‘Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer’) has been hired to write the sequel. Hemsworth will next appear as ‘Thor’ in Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’ set for a May 4, 2012 release date. ‘Thor 2’ is already scheduled to hit theaters in July 2013.
