‘Thor 2’ to be Directed by…Patty Jenkins?

Marvel Studios has confirmed that Thor 2—set for release on Nov. 15, 2013—will be directed by Patty Jenkins. Is this good news? Honestly, I don’t even know. According to a posting on Marvel.com, Jenkins directed Charlize Theron in Monster, and helmed episodes of Entourage and Arrested Development. So there you go.

I’m disappointed that Kenneth Branagh won’t be returning for the sequel, as I thought he gave the Asgard sequences in the first film a near-Shakespearian level of gravitas (which was no surprise given his background). Still, Jenkins has a fairly diverse resume, and might very well be a good fit to bring us the further cinematic adventures of Marvel’s God of Thunder.

To read the full announcement, head over to Marvel.com.

Not Going to New York Comic Con?

Well, I am! And I’ll be tweeting updates and photos from the show floor. Follow me on Twitter (@James_Wortman) to join me in basking in the nerdiness of the East Coast’s preeminent pop culture extravaganza.

I’m Still Geeking Out About the ‘Avengers’ Trailer!

It’s been two days since I saw it for the first time, but since I’m going to be spending my weekend wandering the halls of the Javits Center for New York Comic Con 2011, I figured I’d give the new trailer for Marvel’s The Avengers another look and…wowza.

I was really hoping director Joss Whedon would capture the group dynamic between Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and the banter here in the trailer—most of which involves Downey—is a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure how necessary it was for Scarlett Johansson to reprise her relatively minor role of Black Widow from Iron Man 2, but then I saw her back in that outfit. Yeah, this makes perfect sense.

Plotwise, we get some glimpses of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) being menacing, but I really can’t wait to see the Skrulls in action. For now, this awesome trailer will have to suffice.