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Nikki Finke, who has been giving us the dirt on the rumored cancellation of the Gossip Girl spin-off and the US remake of Absolutely Fabulous, is reporting that Marvel Comics has decided to cast Aussie newcomer (at least, around these here parts) Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk in JJ Abrams‘s Star Trek) in their big screen movie adaptation of Thor. While many fans have been lobbying hardcore for Alexander Skarsgård (who stars in True Blood and to many is the living embodiment of the Viking God comic book hero) to play the role, Finke reports that Hemsworth has swooped in and secured the part:

Talk about spot-on casting. I’ve just learned that Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige and director Kenneth Branagh have chosen their THOR — and it’s Chris Hemsworth, who can currently be seen as “George Kirk” in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot and also just snagged the lead in Red Dawn for MGM on Thursday. The gorgeous 25-year-old Australian is a virtual unknown here in the United States. But he played “Kim Hyde” on 171 episodes of Home and Away, the successful Oz television series chronicling the lives and loves of the residents of Summer Bay, a small coastal town in New South Wales, Australia. Hemsworth is repped by partner and co-founder William Ward’s ROAR management and Eileen Feldman’s agency. Marvel Studios has scheduled Thor for a June 17, 2011, release. The way Chris Hemsworth got the part of Thor is one of those great Hollywood backstories that happens only once in a blue moon. Ward had found Chris during one of the manager’s many scouting trips to Australia. Ward brought him to Los Angeles and really put him out there to casting directors and production executives. As for the major agencies, I hear CAA passed on the meeting, Endeavor took it but passed on repping him, and ICM was interested but dragged their feet. But Eileen Feldman got his appeal immediately. Chris had read for the part of Thor but wasn’t given a test because a casting director had nixed him early on. I’m told Chris’ younger brother Liam (who’s also a ROAR client) then tested for the role of Thor, but Marvel’s Kevin Feige passed. Then, after a conversation with Ward (“You’ve got to reconsider Chris, he’s your guy”), Feige decided to let Chris read again. And once Marvel put him on tape, it was “Oh my god”. Branagh came to town last week and saw the Chris test and made the final casting decision today … Thor’s character, in a nutshell is the Viking god of thunder, who wears a winged helmet and speaks in King James Bible-style Olde English, as well as referring to himself in the third person as “the Odinson.” He wields a magic hammer, and can “fly” by throwing the hammer really hard and hanging on to it. Not only is here the movie Thor, but he’ll also be interacting later with the likes of Iron Man and Hulk. Marvel tapping Kenneth Branagh was a smart move to elevate the pic since the English helmer has so much experience with Shakespearean battle movies and has the ability to balance action with convincingly delivered old English.

I knew from the first moment I saw Hemsworth in Star Trek (he plays Kirk‘s father in the movie’s opening) that he would go on to bigger roles. He deffo has that star quality and I was sure, at least looks wise, that he’d be able to get starring roles in future movies. It’s quite a feat to get cast as the lead in a big budget superhero movie, especially one that will tie in with a movie like Iron Man (both Iron Man and Thor are members of the superhero conglomerate The Avengers). I, too, thought that Skarsgård was a shoe-in for the role … but Hollywood is a wacky place. I think Chris Hemsworth can be Thor. I guess we’ll eventually find out.

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