Thor (2011 Film) Kenneth Branagh

Development

"Thor's powers are godly, yes ... But at the end of the day, he's a man ... Odin sends him to Earth because he's not perfect. He's brash, arrogant. Even over-confident ... he also bleeds. He struggles. Life kicks him where it hurts the most ... You want to feel Thor's rage when he rages. You want to see him fight like hell, and take as much as he dishes out -- maybe more. You want to have a visceral reaction to the guy, and what happens to him. You don't want his adventures to be clean and antiseptic. You want to see the dirt, and grime and blood. You want to feel every bone crunching moment of every fight. And when he unleashes the storm, you want to feel like you're seeing the power of a GOD at work."

—Ashley Miller, co-writer of Thor, about the project[61]

Sam Raimi originally envisioned the idea for Thor after making Darkman (1990); he met Thor co-creator Stan Lee and pitched the concept to 20th Century Fox, but they did not understand it.[62] Thor was abandoned until April 1997, when Marvel Studios was beginning to expand rapidly.[63] The film gained momentum after the success of X-Men (2000). The plan was for Thor to be made for television. UPN was in talks for airing it; excited by the prospect, they pushed for a script and approached Tyler Mane to play Thor.[64] In May 2000, Marvel Studios brought Artisan Entertainment to help finance it as a film, but by June 2004 the project still had yet to be patronized by a studio.[65][66][67] Sony Pictures Entertainment finally purchased the film rights, and in December 2004 David S. Goyer was in negotiations to write and direct.[68] By 2005, though there were talks between Goyer and Marvel, Goyer was no longer interested, though at this point the film was still set to be distributed through Sony Pictures.[69]

Mark Protosevich, a fan of the Thor comic book, agreed to write the script in April 2006, and the project moved to Paramount Pictures, after it acquired the rights from Sony.[70] That year the film was announced to be a Marvel Studios production.[71] In December 2007, Protosevich described his plans for it "to be like a superhero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It's the story of an Old Testament god who becomes a New Testament god".[72] In August 2007 Marvel Studios signed Matthew Vaughn to direct the film.[73] Vaughn then rewrote Protosevich's script in order to bring down the budget to $150 million, as Protosevich's first draft would have cost $300 million to produce.[74] After the success of Iron Man, Marvel Studios announced that they intended to release Thor on June 4, 2010, with Iron Man 2 being used to introduce the character of Thor.[75]

Pre-production

"Thor, at his best, has always had a classic bent in terms of his history, the way he speaks and the often Shakespearean dramas that surround him. That kind of dialogue and character needs someone who comes from a classically trained background in order for it not to sound forced or artificial. Branagh is the perfect choice."

—J Michael Straczynski, co-writer of Thor, on Kenneth Branagh[76]

Vaughn was released when his holding deal expired in May 2008, at which point Marvel set Protosevich to work on a new draft and began searching for a new director.[77] Guillermo del Toro entered talks to direct the film. Del Toro was a fan of Jack Kirby's work on the comics, and said that he loved the character of Loki, but wished to incorporate more of the original Norse mythology into the film,[78] including a "really dingy Valhalla, [with] Vikings and mud".[79] However, del Toro ultimately turned down Thor to direct The Hobbit. By September 2008, D. J. Caruso had been discussing taking on the project, though he did not read the script.[80] Later that month, Kenneth Branagh entered into negotiations to direct,[81] and by December 2008, Branagh confirmed that he had been hired. He described it as "a human story right in the center of a big epic scenario."[82] Branagh stated that he hoped to begin filming in January 2010,[83] and Marvel Studios set back the release date of the film from its scheduled July 16, 2010 date to June 17, 2011, almost a full year later.[84] They later moved the release date to May 20, 2011, to distance the film's release from that of Captain America: The First Avenger, another Marvel Studios film that was scheduled to be released on July 22, 2011.[85] In October 2008, Daniel Craig was offered the role, but ultimately turned it down, citing his commitments to the James Bond franchise.[86]

In February 2009, Samuel L. Jackson, who had briefly portrayed Nick Fury at the end of the film Iron Man, signed on to reprise the role in Thor as part of an unprecedented nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios.[59] In the same month, a casting call went out looking for actors with certain physical attributes to audition for the role of Thor.[87] However, in an April 2010 interview, Jackson stated that he would not be appearing in Thor. When asked why not Jackson explained, "I have no idea. I'm not in charge of making those kinds of decisions. I thought I was; they said I was in the trades, and I was like, 'Ooh! I got a job!' I called my agent he said, 'Naw, you're not in it.' I was like, 'Well shit, they need to pay me if they're gonna put my name in it.'"[88] Later in the month, Jackson revealed that he would be filming a scene for Thor to serve as "connective tissue" for The Avengers.[89]

In May 2009, Chris Hemsworth was in negotiations to portray the title role after a back-and-forth process in which the 25-year-old actor was refused early on, then given a second chance to read for the part. Hemsworth's brother, Liam also auditioned for the role, but was passed on by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige.[10] Josh Hartnett, Kevin McKidd, and Triple H were also considered for the role, while Charlie Hunnam, Alexander Skarsgård, and Joel Kinnaman were tested.[90][10] Alan Ritchson auditioned, but lost the part after he failed to take the casting process seriously.[91] The next day, Marvel announced that Tom Hiddleston, who had worked with Branagh before and had initially been considered to portray the lead role, had been cast as Loki.[18] In June 2009, Feige confirmed that both Hemsworth and Hiddleston had signed on.[92] Feige mentioned that the film would take place on both modern day Earth and Asgard but Thor's human host, Dr. Donald Blake, would not be included.[92] In July 2009, Marvel announced that Natalie Portman would portray Jane Foster.[14] Jaimie Alexander and Colm Feore were reported to have joined the cast in September, with Alexander portraying Sif and Feore's role unrevealed, though it was thought to be a villain.[40] In an interview with Swedish news site Ystads Allehanda, Stellan Skarsgård stated that he had joined the cast, though he did not specify his role.[21] By late October Anthony Hopkins had been cast as Odin in the film.[46] The following month, Marvel announced that they had cast the Warriors Three; Fandral was to be played by Stuart Townsend, Hogun was to be played by Tadanobu Asano and Volstagg was to be played by Ray Stevenson.[31] Idris Elba was announced to have joined the cast, portraying Heimdall.[33] Natalie Portman revealed that Kat Dennings would be involved in the project, portraying Darcy, a coworker of Portman's Jane Foster.[24][93]

In December 2009, Rene Russo was cast as Frigga, Thor's mother and Odin's wife.[44] Later that month, actors Joseph Gatt, Troy Brenna, and Josh Coxx had been cast in the film, though none of their roles were revealed.[54] In January 2010, Adriana Barraza had joined the film's cast, in a supporting capacity.[94] Only days before filming began, Stuart Townsend was replaced by Joshua Dallas as Fandral, citing "creative differences".[52] When Spider-Man 4's production stalled, Paramount and Marvel Entertainment pushed up the release of Thor by two weeks to May 6, 2011.[95]

The Science & Entertainment Exchange introduced Marvel Entertainment, Kenneth Branagh, "the screenwriter, and a few people on the design and production side of things" to three physicists (Sean Carroll, Kevin Hand, and Jim Hartle), as well as physics student Kevin Hickerson, to provide a realistic science background for the Thor universe. The consultation resulted in a change in Jane Foster's profession, from nurse to particle physicist, and the terminology (Einstein-Rosen bridge) to describe the Bifrost Bridge.[96]

Filming

In October 2008, Marvel Studios signed a long-term lease agreement with Raleigh Studios to photograph their next four films—Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers—at Raleigh's Manhattan Beach, California facility.[97] Production Weekly reported that filming on Marvel's Thor was scheduled to begin in Los Angeles mid-January, then move to Santa Fe, New Mexico from March until late-April.[98] Principal photography began on January 11, 2010.[99] A few days after filming began, Clark Gregg signed on to reprise his role from Iron Man and Iron Man 2 as Agent Coulson.[27] In February, Paramount Pictures entered negotiations with Del Mar, California to use a 300-yard stretch of beach to film a scene for Thor involving six horses running down the terrain. Paramount said this coastline was ideal because its gradual slope of sand down to the waterline creates excellent reflective opportunities on film.[100] On March 15, 2010, production of Thor moved to Galisteo, New Mexico where Cerro Pelon Ranch,[101] an old-fashioned Western film town, was extensively modified for the shoot.[102][103]

Branagh, a fan of the comic book since childhood, commented on the challenge of bridging Asgard and the modern world: "Inspired by the comic book world both pictorially and compositionally at once, we've tried to find a way to make a virtue and a celebration of the distinction between the worlds that exist in the film but absolutely make them live in the same world. It's about finding the framing style, the color palette, finding the texture and the amount of camera movement that helps celebrate and express the differences and the distinctions in those worlds. If it succeeds, it will mark this film as different.... The combination of the primitive and the sophisticated, the ancient and the modern, I think that potentially is the exciting fusion, the exciting tension in the film".[104]

By April, the prospect for filming parts of Thor in Del Mar, California had fallen through. Paramount Pictures sent a letter informing the city that it has instead chosen an undisclosed Northern California location to film a beachfront scene for the film. The letter cited cost concerns with moving production too far away from its headquarters.[105] Filming wrapped on May 6, 2010.[12]

Post-production

In October 2010, casting calls revealed the film would be undergoing an undisclosed number of reshoots.[106] In March 2011, scenes involving Adriana Barraza were removed from the theatrical cut of the film during the editing process. Branagh sent a letter of apology explaining the reasons for the cut and desire to work with Barraza again in the future. In response Barraza stated, "It saddens me because the movie is great and because I was acting alongside some tremendous actors that I admire very much, but I understand the nature of films, and it's not the first or last time that scenes will be cut".[107] Barraza appears in only one scene in the film's theatrical cut. In that same month, Douglas Tait revealed that he performed for motion capture of the Frost Giants.[108] On his hiring, Tait said "I am 6'5" and have a lean, athletic build, and they hired guys who were 6'7" and taller, and weighed over 250 pounds (110 kg). When the film was being edited, they wanted to make them even bigger and move faster. They auditioned people again and Kenneth Branagh chose me to perform the motion capture movements of the Frost Giants".[108] In April 2011, the IMAX Corporation, Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment announced that they have finalized an agreement to release the film in IMAX 3D, continuing the partnership which began on Iron Man 2.[109] Branagh stated that the 3-D process initially made him cringe but said "We came to feel that in our case 3-D could be the very good friend of story and character for a different kind of experience". Although the film was shot in 2D, Feige stated that the "special effects for the film were conceived and executed from the beginning in 3D".[110] The post-credits scene that sees Nick Fury approach Erik Selvig to ask him to study the Tesseract, was directed by The Avengers's director, Joss Whedon.[111]

BUF Compagnie served as the lead visual effects vendor working on the film,[112] with Digital Domain also providing work on the film.[113] some of the software used for the visual effects were Autodesk Softimage.[114] Branagh stated that BUF, who developed the effects for the race through space, were inspired by Hubble photography and other images of deep space. Branagh stated he sent paintings from classic studies by J. M. W. Turner to Digital Domain when creating Jotunheim.[115] Peter Butterworth, VFX supervisor and co-founder of Fuel VFX, said the most challenging task was interpreting what the Bifröst would look like, "You can't Google what these things look like—they are totally imagined and within the heads of the stakeholders. So to extract that and interpret it for the big screen was an interesting challenge creatively. Technically, probably creating fluid simulations that could be art-directed and used for both the Bifröst and Odin's chamber shots. Part of the difficulty with solving these is that we had to ensure they would work in stereo.[116] In the film, Odin enters what is known as the "Odinsleep" in his chamber to regenerate. Butterworth stated, "For Odin's Chamber, we developed a dome and curtain of light rays that hover over Odin's bed. This dome of light suggests harnessed power and energy that revitalizes him as he sleeps. We took a lot of reference from the natural world such as the corona of the sun and gave the sleep effect plenty of volume and space".[116]