Wire man Elba joins Thor cast

With shooting on Thor, the latest in the third millennium's seemingly endless succession of Marvel Comics-derived blockbusters, due to commence this coming January, it is no surprise that director Kenneth Branagh has been hastily applying the finishing touches to his cast of Nordic deities. The newest addition to the company is Idris Elba, known to viewers of The Wire as Stringer Bell.

The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Elba has been engaged in the role of Heimdall, the sentry who stands guard at the Bifrost Bridge linking Asgard (Land of the Gods) to Midgard (Land of Joe and Joanna Public). The Bridge itself is a kind of giant cosmic rainbow thingamajig - not wholly unlike the Rainbow Road course from Super Mario Kart – suggesting that Elba's role could see him getting very well-acquainted indeed with the interior of a green screen studio.

Hackney-born Elba is but the latest UK name to be added to Thor's decidedly Brit-dominated cast. While the main role is being tackled by Aussie Chris Hemsworth (Poppa Kirk from this summer's Star Trek), and female lead Jane Foster is the preserve of Natalie Portman, Branagh has found roles for countrymen Ray Stevenson and Stuart Townsend (as two-thirds of rabble-rousing scrappers The Warriors Three – Mongol actor Tadanobu Asano completes the trio), as well as Sir Anthony Hopkins, playing Odin, King of the Gods. In addition, up-and-coming English actor Tom Hiddleston (who co-starred with Branagh in TV's Wallander) has been handed the role of chief villain Loki, the God of Mischief and Thor's own brother. It is left to Jaimie Alexander to offer a fairly isolated American presence amongst the supporting cast, as Sif, sister of Heimdall.

Also appearing in the film will be the man who originally conceived of Thor as a superhero back in the 1960s, Stan Lee, with the Marvel guru telling MTV this week that “nicest guy in the world” Branagh had promised him a role; “Months ago, when he was first starting on the movie, he said he would get a cameo for me.” The comic book incarnation of Thor is known for its quasi-Shakespearean verbal flourishes, barely a page passing by without the title character exclaiming “Zounds!” or “By my Father's Beard!”. Which should ensure the now-burgeoning movie cast are each handed a few pearls of portentously pompous dialogue to wrap their chops around. Audiences are due to get their opportunity to share in all the mythological fun in summer 2011.