Marvel’s recently-revived Thor character (now being written with aplomb by J. Michael Straczynski) may be heading to the UK – but not in the comic.
The Daily Mail reports that after enjoying a successful British production on Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, director Matthew Vaughn is hoping to keep the home-field advantage when production starts on Thor and is lobbying for a UK shoot for Marvel’s god of thunder.
The film is scheduled for a 2009 release.
“It obviously bought us luck filming at home and I’m relieved that [Stardust] has performed so well in my own country,” Vaughn said. “We have the A-list actors, designers, cinematographers and crew in Britain, so there’s no need to make Thor among all that madness in Los Angeles.”
Back in October, Comics2Film that an early script for the film (said to centre on the relationship between Thor and evil brother Loki and set entirely in the otherworld of Asgard) would have cost perhaps up to $300 million to make and was being revised, but Vaughn told Metro International “We’re trying to reshape it and get it down.”
Based on the god of the same name from Nordic mythology and created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby, Thor first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 back in 1962.
In addition to the feature film, an animated Thor feature is in the works from Lions Gate Entertainment for 2009.
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Film