Kenneth Branagh to Direct (and possibly act) in Thor

"Valkyrie" actor Kenneth Branagh has secured his place as the director of "Thor". Marvel.com reported that Marvel Studios have officially picked the "As You Like It" director to take on the feature film installment of the blonde-tressed and hammer-wielding hero by serving as its helmer.

Branagh will be filling the void left by director Matthew Vaughn, who was earlier attached to direct the adaptation, but dropped out when his contract ended. Beside being picked up as the director, the Professor Gilderoy Lockhart of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" has also been rumored to have an acting part in the movie, with the possibility of him portraying the titular character. No words have been shared on the matter by the studio though.

Adaptation of the comicbook franchise that launched in 1962, "Thor" will be set in modern time, following the story of disabled medical student Donald Blake, whose alter ego is a hammer-wielding Norse god Thor. Paramount Pictures will distribute this superhero film, which script is provided by screenwriter Mark Protosevich, in theaters across the U.S. on July 16, 2010.