| With filming on Kenneth Branagh’s Thor set to begin in January, it would seem that the cast of Marvel’s fantasy epic has at last been completed. Variety was reporting this morning that Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson and Japanese star Tadanobu Asano have signed on to play Thor’s loyal friends and back-up muscle, the Warriors Three. Well, they were reporting that, but now the article has mysteriously disappeared. Perhaps the info wasn’t 100% correct, and has been taken down, or the announcement was premature. After all, Dominic Cooper was mooted as a possible Warrior Three just last month, while Chuck star Zachary Levi admitted that he had been cast as Fandral, only for a scheduling problem to put the kibosh on that. Either way, treat this as rumour for the time being. The Warriors Three – Fandral the Dashing, Volstagg The Valiant, and Hogun The Grim – are Asgardian Gods (original Marvel creations not drawn from Norse mythology) who have accompanied Thor on many an adventure since their creation, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, in 1965. We’re not yet sure who’s playing who, but the smart money is on Townsend as Fandral, Stevenson as Volstagg and Asano as Hogun. Asano, star of Ichi The Killer and Mongol, will make his English-language debut with Thor. Townsend and Stevenson, of course, have comic book movie form. Townsend played Dorian Gray in the misguided The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, while Stevenson was Frank Castle Mk III in Punisher: War Zone. OK, so that’s not admirable form, but look at it this way: with Thor, the only way is up. Right?
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