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The Mighty Thor may finally have found his father, with the news that Anthony Hopkins is in talks to play the one-eyed Norse Allfather Odin (aka Woden, Wotan, or if you're a Neil Gaiman fan, Mr Wednesday) in Kenneth Branagh's mythic Marvel epic.

Maybe he's had his enthusiasm for big-budget Hollywood reignited with The Wolfman, or maybe it was Branagh's involvement that persuaded him, but either way, it'll be great to see Hopkins back in a blockbuster, and he joins a stonking cast which, you'll know by now, also includes Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki (Odin's other, adopted son), Natalie Portman as nurse Jane Foster, and Jamie Alexander as the Lady Sif (plus Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury and Stellan Skarsgard in a still unspecified role).

As portrayed in the comics, Odin ought to be considerably more dressed and less drunk than Hopkins' turn as King Hrothgar in Beowulf. You need a clear head to wield the Odinforce.

Yes, you've got to admire the eclectic cast that Branagh is building around Marvel's Norse god hero. And if the rumours that Robert De Niro, Colm Feore and Jude Law have signed on ever turn out to be true (though that's looking increasingly unlikely), we can't wait to see this lot in action…