Sweet! Branagh 'gets' Thor

I'm relieved.

I have to admit I was scratching my head when I heard the rumor months ago that Kenneth Branagh, better known for his serious Shakespeare chops than being a fanboy, would be directing "Thor" in 2010. I took it as the Powers The Be or some overeager publicist, studio official or blogger was throwing the idea out there to see what sticks. (Probably a more common Hollywood practice than anyone realizes. …)

Then I started rethinking it.

This might be a simply brilliant fit. What better person to film the Norse God of Thunder than someone with a classic background?

Now it seems Branagh has gotten some fanboy cred from Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. Here's the important part of what Quesada posted between 9:49 PM Tuesday and 2 AM Wednesday on Twitter.com about his meeting with Branagh and "New Avengers" writer Brian Michael Bendis:

Joe Quesada: Okay, three words describe my day today “Branagh gets it!” …

Quesada: @BRIANMBENDIS We can’t go into detail but I think we can say that we met with Branagh about Thor. … Q

uesada: (in response to a fan) I’ll tell you what’s sweet @rdhall Sweet is when he starts quoting continuity and past storylines. The man has immersed himself in Marvel

This is a good sign — and a relief. I was concerned Branagh was tossing his name into the mix (or someone else did) simply to have a (somewhat) Big Name Director "attached" to a superhero flick.

My take is Branagh is immersing himself in Thor stories, etc. to prepare just as Jon Favreau did for "Iron Man;" this means we should have a director who will respect the material and character. Here's hoping we hear some director and casting news about "Captain America" (May 2011) soon. …