Thor Movie

As part of this year's Summer Movie Preview Week, MTV News spoke to "Thor" director Kenneth Branagh about taking on Marvel's hammer-wielding hero and the daunting task of integrating the god of thunder into the same world occupied by Iron Man, Hulk and — in a few months — "The First Avenger" himself, Captain America.
MTV News: So let's go back to the very early days of this project. Everyone was surprised — and pleasantly so — when your name was first announced as "Thor" director. Why did you take the job? Why did this project appeal to you?
Kenneth Branagh: I suppose it was partly that I wanted to surprise myself. I was happy to surprise a few other people. It's nice to challenge your own sense of what you think you might be able to do and other people's preconceptions. I thought that it was a total breath of fresh air, and the freshness about the whole adventure was something I'd enjoy very much. But you can't do it for just those reasons. I was drawn to the character and the story and the understanding that it would happen on an epic scale. The size of it, and the chance to tell a big — and hopefully popular — movie on a large scale was just such a very, very exciting possibility.
MTV News: Much like Iron Man was in 2008, Thor isn't all that well-known prior to his big-screen debut. One would think that this, along with his magical, godlike powers and origin story, makes the c


haracter an even harder sell for mainstream movie audiences. How did you approach that challenge?
Branagh: There's no question that everybody at Marvel felt that way, and I would have to agree with them. 
Thor Movie