Kenneth Branagh is negotiating to direct Thor for Marvel Studios, reports Variety. The comic book adaptation is scheduled for a July 16, 2010 release.
Branagh is the latest in a string of directors — such as Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Christopher Nolan (the Batman franchise) and Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) — with arthouse roots taking on big-budget comic book fare.
Marvel will set a distributor for Thor shortly.
Thor, written by Mark Protosevich, follows disabled medical student Donald Blake, who has an alter ego as the hammer-wielding Norse god Thor.
