Like all of you, I'm extremely excited about seeing what director Alan Taylor is cooking up for us in Thor: The Dark World. This sequel is going to have a very different tone than the first film, and as much as I loved the first Thor, I'm looking forward to seeing the evolution of this world.
Marvel Studios executive producer Craig Kyle recently did an interview with Empire (via: CBM), in which he talked about the film's new director, high expectations, redefining what makes a good superhero film, and where the state of Asgard currently stands when the movie starts.
By bringing director Alan Taylor into the mix, with his expertise on 'The Sopranos,' 'Mad Men' and 'Game of Thrones,' we came up with a take that allows us to get more into the nooks and crannies of Asgard and its people. We spend more time on the ground with the commoners, as opposed to in the palace.
He went on to say that expectations are high for Thor: The Dark World, and explains,
Like in Indiana Jones, while there's high stakes and high danger, there's always fun. We have to constantly redefine what a superhero film is or it'd just exhaust the audience. So Iron Man is the James Bond-y, classic, suave action hero; Captain America's the period piece; Hulk is the monster movie; Avengers the disaster movie; and Thor is the science-fiction epic.
It's a very complicated blend [of genres: high science fiction, gritty fantasy, and realism]. Thor is, until Guardians of the Galaxy hits, by far our most wild, fringe Marvel piece. But that's why it's the Marvel Universe and not Marvel Earth!
Kyle also revealed that the movie will start out with Asgard battered by war and The Nine Realms beset "by rag-tag invaders known as The Marauders," led by the villain Mister Sinister. So Asgard is in a weakened state, and this allows for the invasion of the Dark Elves, led by Malekith the Accursed, played Christopher Eccleston.
The movie is set to be released in 3D on November 8th, 2013, and I can'rt wait to start seeing some official photos and footage from it. Here's the synopsis:
Marvel Studios’ Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo andAnthony Hopkins as Odin, “Thor: The Dark World” is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book “Journey into Mystery” #83 in August, 1962.