Casting change-up! We have a casting change-up! Word arrived on Friday via Entertainment Weekly that Josh Dallas, AKA Thor’s Fandral, would regretfully have to skip shooting the sequel because he’s committed to work on US fantasy drama Once Upon A Time. Marvel, it would appear, has acted quickly to start locking down a replacement and Chuck's / Tangled's Zachary Levi is in early talks to take over the part.
If he does sign a deal – which is apparently looking likely – it’ll be cosmic karma worthy of Asgard itself with Levi. See, he was in talks to play that very role in the original but had to pull out when his own show (spy comedy drama Chuck) was rescued from cancellation. With Chuck now officially finished, it looks like Levi is finally getting his turn as Fandral.
He’ll be joining a cast that already includes returning thesps Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins, along with some guy one or two of you seem to be fans of… Tom Heidelberg? Higginbotham? Hiddleston! That’s it… And, more recently, Mads Mikkelsen entered negotiations to play another villain. Our fingers remain crossed that Kat Dennings will also be back as Darcy.
Game Of Thrones veteran Alan Taylor is preparing to start cranking the cameras next month. No word has yet leaked on what the plot will be, but we’re promised a darker look at Asgard this time around - and for more on that, pick up the current issue of **Empire (here for US readers).