Kenneth Branagh certainly gave a touch of class to Marvel’s grandiose mythology when delivering THOR to the big screen, a specific touch that will be absent when the sequel rolls without the stage and screen veteran directing the Thunder God’s bombastic activities.
The hammer-swinger himself Chris Hemsworth is particularly dismayed by Branagh’s decision to leave the franchise behind. “I’m really disappointed,” Hemsworth told Hero Complex. “Ken built that character, and everything I know about the Thor world I learned while shoulder-to-shoulder with Ken. I learned so much from him.”
“As long as he’s happy, that’s the thing,” he continued. (Branagh reportedly decided the time and energy required for another big-budget epic was more than he wanted to deal with so soon after finishing the first movie.) “I learned so much from Ken while we built [the first film], so at least I had that time with someone like that. The start of anything creative is the most important period in a way. That’s when the most can go wrong, and Ken made sure we got it right.”
Marvel is currently seeking a suitable replacement to direct THOR 2, which they want in theaters July 2013, two months after IRON MAN 3.
Thoughts on who could be a good choice to direct? And, more importantly, what kind of post-AVENGERS adventure the Thunder God might have in the sequel?