First Looks and First Pics!

Alright, granted the summer movie season of 2010 is about to being, but the summer movie season of 2011 is already before the cameras, filming so as to be ready for next year!

First up, right after Iron Man 2 hits next week, the next film from Marvel Studios will be their classic spin on Norse mythology, Thor. Here's our first look at the title character, Thor, as played by Chris Hemsworth.



To recap who all is working on Thor:

As already mentioned, Chris Hemsworth is playing Thor. Hemsworth was last seen in last year's Star Trek, playing Capt. Kirk's daddy in the pre-credits sequence.

Tom Hiddleston is playing Loki, Thor's half-brother and arch-enemy.

Oscar-nominee Natalie Portman will be playing Jane Foster. In the original comics, Jane Foster was a nurse employed by Dr. Donald Blake, Thor's human secret identity. From what I gather online, for the movie version, Foster has been changed to a grad student studying Norse mythology whose research is torn asunder when the God of Thunder literally falls from the sky and lands in front of her.

An Oscar winner, Anthony Hopkins, plays Odin, Thor's father and ruler of the Gods in Asgard. Renee Russo plays Frigga, Thor's wife. And in a nice nod to the shared universe Marvel is developing for their films, Clark Gregg reprises his Iron Man and Iron Man 2 role of SHIELD agent Phil Coulson.

The director is the legendary British actor/director Kenneth Branagh. This is Branagh's first attempt at a Hollywood blockbuster since Mary Shelley's Frankenstein way back in 1994.

May 2011 is when this'll hit theatres.

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And that's not all. As I've already extensively blogged about, a live-action movie version of The Smurfs has just started filming to come out next summer.

And here's our first look at Hank Azaria as Gargamel!



God, I laughed when I saw that.

The plot has one of Gargamel's latest spells going awry, transporting Gargamel and the entire Smurf village to present day New York City. (The Smurf village gets safely hidden in Central Park.) Neil Patrick Harris plays the New Yorker given the task of helping the Smurfs get back to their own time.

And there's an all-star voice cast voicing the Smurfs:

Jonathon Winters is Papa Smurf
Katy Perry is Smurfette
George Lopez is Grouchy Smurf
Anton Yelchin is Clumsy Smurf
Fred Armisen is Brainy Smurf
Paul Reubens is Jokey Smurf
BJ Novak is Baker Smurf
Kenan Thompsan is Greedy Smurf
Jeff Foxworthy is Handy Smurf

The director on this one is Raja Gosnell, who brought us such legends as Beverly Hills Chihuahua and the live-action Scooby-Doo films. I wonder if this means a talking dog shows up.....

August 2011 is when it's slated to come out, and yes, it'll be in 3D.