Thor

The first teaser trailer for “Thor: The Dark World” reveals a darker take on Marvel’s hammer-wielding demigod, an Asgard at war with other worlds and Chris Hemsworth’s superhero so desperate that he teams up with the one person he knows he can’t trust. That’s right — Thor and Loki will be fighting on the same side in “Thor: The Dark World,” the sequel to 2011′s “Thor,” which introduced Thor (Hemsworth) and his villainous adopted brother Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston. “You must be truly desperate to come to me for help,” an imprisoned Loki tells Thor in the teaser, released Tuesday. “You should know that when you betray me, I will kill you,” Thor says. Loki’s coy response: “When do we start?” The teaser trailer runs just under two minutes (watch it below) and provides a glimpse of the evil […]

Chris Hemsworth is back in his Asgardian armor in a new movie poster for “Thor: The Dark World.” The poster arrives ahead of the film’s first teaser trailer, which will be released Tuesday. In the poster, Hemsworth’s Thor appears to be in a snowstorm, wielding his hammer Mjölnir to call down lightning. “Thor: The Dark World” is the sequel to 2011′s “Thor,” which chronicled the demigod’s fall from grace, banishment to Earth and rise to redemption. The blockbuster also introduced villainous Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who faced off against Thor and the other Avengers, including Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow, in 2012′s “The Avengers.” Loki and Thor reunite for “Thor: The Dark World,” along with returning cast members Natalie Portman (who plays scientist and love interest Jane Foster), Kat Dennings (Foster’s research assistant Darcy Lewis), Stellan […]

Feld Entertainment Inc., which produces the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, along with other live shows such as Disney on Ice, is teaming up with Marvel Entertainment to produce a live arena show featuring Marvel characters. It’s the latest in a series of new ventures for the company that created the likes of Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Hulk, including two upcoming animated series, a Web series and a new digital comics platform. An arena or stage show featuring comic-book characters has been done — witness last year’s ‘Batman Live’ and the accident-prone “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” — but Kenneth Feld, CEO of Vienna, Va.-based Feld Entertainment, believes that his company’s experience with these types of acrobatic shows could make the difference. “What [the 'Spider-Man' Broadway show] tried to do was new for them, but it’s the stuff we […]

How could Loki, a villain who was defeated by a single superhero in “Thor,” become a believably formidable foe for a team of six superheroes backed by S.H.I.E.L.D.? The question plagued Loki actor Tom Hiddleston, 31, when he was preparing for “The Avengers,” out on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday. “That was what I was so terrified I would fail to do,” Hiddleston said. “It’s a big old movie.” Big it certainly is. “The Avengers,” which cost $220 million to make, was a popular and critical hit, earning more than $1.5 billion worldwide and making director Joss Whedon a household name. The film unites a team of A-list muscle men, many of them already stars of their own Marvel movies, including Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2″), Chris Evans (“Captain America”), Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”), Black Widow actress Scarlett […]

As of Friday, Chris Hemsworth will be on screen playing a fairy-tale character (“Snow White and the Huntsman”) and a larger-than-life demigod (Thor in “The Avengers”). Both roles are rooted in fantasy and science-fiction, but the Australia-born star said his goal as an actor was to find real-world truthfulness in the characters. Hero Complex sat down with Hemsworth, 28, to talk about his new movies, the directors he’s worked with and what’s next for him. HC: What did you learn from “The Avengers” and “Thor” that you were able to bring to “Snow White and the Huntsman”? CH: I remember years ago, an acting teacher said to me, “Vulnerability is such a great asset on screen.” And I think in life, too. Vulnerability, it’s the heart of the truth of who we are. The vulnerability of you doubting something, it’s usually […]

“The Avengers” will fill the sky with Marvel icons – that is, if the summer’s most crowded film doesn’t remain earthbound under the great weight of its teeming ensemble. That challenge is why Joss Whedon was brought in as the director and screenwriter. He’s a true savant when it comes to snappy dialogue and scenes that become sly symphonies of angst, bravado, love, lust, doubt and deceit. With all of that in mind, we asked Whedon to talk about the major characters and what each brings to the group dynamic. Today: Thor. There’s a scene in “Thor” in which the title hero, played by Chris Hemsworth, is working the crowd in the majestic hall of Asgard’s royal family. As a disdainful Odin looks on, his cocky son grins, struts and swaggers like a vainglorious varsity quarterback in some sort of celestial homecoming parade. You won’t be […]

The news is grim — a team member has gone down, the worst is feared — and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) exchange pensive looks while, all around them, the agents of a super-spy agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. tend to their duties as an off-planet enemy force threatens the entire planet. The scene, being filmed on an elevated set, was watched from a safe — and ironic — distance by Joss Whedon. “You know, you shouldn’t worry too much,” the director and co-writer of “The Avengers” reassured a visitor to the New Mexico set. “This kind of stuff happens here almost every day in the Marvel universe.” It does feel sometimes like Hollywood has become a digital factory dedicated to cosmic dangers, costumed heroes and CG magic but “The Avengers” is a special case even in this summer […]

This week, the Marvel Universe reaches a new plateau with the Hollywood red-carpet premiere of “The Avengers,” which unites the title characters from four film franchises — Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk –  to save Earth from a cosmic threat. The only person who had a hand in creating all of those characters was the late Jack Kirby, a titan figure in comics, but his heirs weren’t invited to the premiere;  their presence would be awkward considering their legal quest to reclaim the rights to hundreds of his Marvel creations. That leaves Neal Kirby, Jack’s only son, on the outside looking in but in this guest essay he writes about the days when the Marvel Universe was as close as his family basement.   In 1961, I was the luckiest damn kid on my block — or maybe any block. My father worked at home. […]

A new trailer for “The Avengers” is out, revealing more explosions, high-flying villains and a call-to-arms for Marvel’s wonder-team of superheroes. “The Avengers,” directed by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, assembles Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk (each of whom found some measure of success with his own summer blockbuster in recent years) and adds a few more comics pages stars — Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury — who have made appearances in Marvel films but have yet to enjoy headlining their own big-screen adaptations. The new trailer begins with an “Inception”-like bass drone and views of a devastated city being fire-bombed as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) delivers a dramatic voice-over: “War has started. And we are hopelessly outgunned.” Then, one by one, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) […]

“Thor” star Chris Hemsworth is sad to see director Kenneth Branagh leave Asgard, but he said the filmmaker’s rumored replacement, Patty Jenkins, is up to the cosmic task she would inherit. “She has a great take on the story and a solid grasp on that kind of universe,” the Aussie actor said Wednesday on the set of “Snow White and the Huntsman” in eastern Wales. Hemsworth, who plays the Huntsman in the ambitious fantasy film, was filming horseback scenes on a beach for a battle sequence against Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron — who just happened to win an Oscar in the Jenkins-directed 2003 film “Monster.” Jenkins (who also directed the acclaimed pilot episode of AMC’s “The Killing” )  isn’t completely locked in for the Marvel Studios sequel but has confirmed that she is in advanced talks to pick up where Branagh left off. The first “Thor” film […]