Marvel has released the first trailer for director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World and it looks great.  Like every well cut trailer, it showcases a ton of impressive looking action, while revealing new details about the story.  I especially liked the reveal of how Loki (Tom Hiddleston) will be involved in the sequel.   If you dug the first Thor, you’re going to love this trailer.  Hit the jump to watch and let me know what you think in the comments.  

Thor: The Dark World stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston,Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

We’ve got a couple of superhero images for you this morning.  First up, Empire has released a hi-res version of the previously released image of the sharp-dressed, sharp-clawed Logan (Hugh Jackman) from The Wolverine.  There’s also an official set photo of director Alan Taylor and Chris Hemsworth on the set of Thor: The Dark World.  I like to imagine that Taylor is stoned out of his mind in this image, and marveling at the size of his hand.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The Wolverine opens in 3D on July 26th.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Location work continues in a London courtyard for director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World, and it appears that the production is focusing on a fairly intricate battle sequence.  We’ve seen a number of images and video from the same London set over the past couple of weeks, and a few new videos have surfaced today that give us a look at some fun stunt work.  The fight sequence involves Chris Hemsworth’s Thor battling Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith and his band of Dark Elves, and we see a couple of stunts involving the two main characters in these new videos.

Hit the jump to watch the set videos.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8, 2013.

It’s been a while since we last saw some images from the set of Marvel’s sequel Thor: The Dark World, but today some new photos have popped online featuring star Chris Hemsworth filming in London.  These images aren’t as exciting as the previous batch that teased a ginormous battle on an alien planet, but we do get to see Hemsworth strike some Thor poses and roll heroically.  Apparently the scene in question involves the character throwing his hammer down and summoning some good old-fashioned lightning.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Directed by Alan Taylor, the film also stars Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, and Tom Hiddleston.  Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013. [Update: More high-quality images from the set have surfaced and are now included in the gallery after the jump.]

Though Phase One of Marvel Studios’ film slate came to an end just a few months ago with The Avengers, production on Phase Two is already well underway.  The studio is currently in the midst of filming two upcoming sequels at the same time: Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.  The Iron Man production is winding down to a close ahead of that film’s May 2013 release date, but filming on Thor: The Dark World is still going strong in London and today the first official synopsis for the Asgardian pic has been revealed.

The logline essentially tells us what we already know: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must fight against Maleketih (Christopher Eccleston) and his race of Dark Elves, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is back, the fate of the universe is in the balance, etc.  However, the synopsis does tease the film’s epic scope and the fact that Thor is forced to “sacrifice everything” in order to save us all (Thor dies?!).  Hit the jump to check out the full synopsis, which includes the full cast list.  Directed by Alan Taylor, Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013.

Director Alan Taylor’s sequel Thor: The Dark World has added two veteran actors in heroic roles.  First up is Richard Brake, who is making the jump from DC to Marvel (fans of Batman Begins may remember him as Joe Chill, the hoodlum who murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents).  Joining him will be Clive Russell, an imposing Brit perhaps best known for playing Captain Tanner in Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Thor: The Dark World, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and Kat Dennings, opens November 8th, 2013.  Hit the jump for more casting details.

Yesterday we got a good look at Chris Hemsworth and Jaimie Alexander going to battle on the Surrey set of Thor: The Dark World, and today some more images and video of said battle has surfaced online.  We get a look at some of the other creatures from the action sequence, and we also get to see some fighting in motion courtesy of the set video.  There are a few flashes of light as the action takes place, so we can safely assume that means Thor isn’t too far away.

Hit the jump to check out the images and video.  The film also stars Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Zachary Levi, Idris Elba, Alice Krige, Kat Dennings, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Hopkins, Jaime Alexander, Rene Russo, and Christopher Eccleston.  Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013.

Filming is currently underway on Thor: The Dark World in London, and a batch of exciting new images from the set has landed online.  We previously saw some photos of a fairly massive outdoor set being built, but these images show the action that director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) has staged on the completed set.  We see Jaimie Alexander’s Sif riding around on horseback while what appears to be a large battle between two factions is taking place.  After the jump you’ll find images of some of the creatures involved, explosions, fire, and plenty of warriors.  Chris Hemsworth is nowhere to be found, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we get a look at the actor reprising his titular role as Thor.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  Possible spoilers follow, though I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be some sort of opening sequence for the film.  The pic also stars Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Zachary Levi, Idris Elba, Alice Krige, Kat Dennings, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Hopkins, Jaime Alexander, Rene Russo, and Christopher Eccleston.  Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013.

[Update: Speak of the devil.  Images of Hemsworth on set and kicking ass have now surfaced and are included after the jump.]

Mr. Eko is heading to Asgard.  Lost star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has joined the cast of the sequel Thor: The Dark World as one of the film’s villains.  Christopher Eccelston is already set to play the film’s primary baddie, Malekith the Accursed, the ruler of the Dark Elves, and Tom Hiddleston is also set to return as the meddlesome Loki.  Now Variety reports that Akinnuoye-Agbaje will be playing Algrim the Strong, a character from the comics who was the most powerful among the Dark Elves.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje is best known for playing Mr. Eko on ABC’s Lost.  The fan-favorite character only lasted a short while, as the actor was unhappy with having to move to Hawaii for the production and asked to be written off the show. For more on the Algrim character, and how he figures into Thor: The Dark World, hit the jump.  Beware, possible minor spoilers for the Marvel sequel follow. 

We’ve got a few exciting casting stories to share this evening.  First up, though many believed her character would be left out of the sequel, Deadline reports that Kat Dennings is indeed returning for Thor: The Dark World.  Details are thin, but apparently her role of Darcy Lewis has been expanded for the follow-up opposite Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth.  I thought Dennings’ comic relief was spot-on in Thor, so this comes as welcome news for the follow-up.  Production is set to begin imminently with director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) at the helm, Christopher Eccelston as the new baddie, and Tom Hiddleston returning as that pesky Loki.

Hit the jump for casting news concerning Terrence Malick’s upcoming drama Knight of Cups and the Arnold Schwarzenegger thriller Ten.

The villainous role in Thor: The Dark World may finally have been filled by Christopher Eccleston (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra).  We’ll keep the identity of that particular villain until after the jump for those of you who like to avoid such information.  Suffice it to say, we were right when we recently reported who we thought the villain might be.  And let’s not forget, the Marvel sequel will still include Loki (Tom Hiddleston), it’s just that this time around he’ll have a little more bad to balance out the good.  Hit the jump for more details.

Production on Marvel’s sequel to Thor is set to get underway very shortly in London, and we’re starting to get an idea of what to expect from the superhero follow-up.  The studio officially announced the sequel’s title, Thor: The Dark World, at Comic-Con last week and fans began wondering what the subtitle could be referencing.  Mads Mikkelsen was in talks to play the film’s villain, but subsequently had to drop out of the running due to scheduling issues with the NBC series Hannibal.  The nature of that villain was unknown, but now thanks to an obscure interview we may have been clued in to what baddies Thor will face in his big screen return.  Hit the jump for more.

With a month or so to go before production is about to begin on Thor 2, it appears that Marvel is in the midst of casting the film’s villain.  Back in May, we learned that Casino Royale baddie Mads Mikkelsen had entered negotiations to play the unspecified villain in director Alan Taylor’s Marvel follow-up.  Then in June, we learned that Mikkelsen had nabbed the role of Hannibal Lecter on Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller’s highly anticipated NBC prequel series Hannibal.  I wondered at the time how Mikkelsen would fit both projects in his schedule given that filming on the Hannibal pilot is set to commence soon, and now it looks like the answer is “he won’t.” Hit the jump for more.

We’ve got just a few more release date shuffles to share on this unofficial “Release Date Thursday.”  Following release date news for the X-Men: First Class sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Robopocalypse, as well as Independence Day 3D, here’s a brief rundown of a few more dates:

• Disney’s Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp has been moved from May 31st to July 3rd, 2013.
• Marvel’s Thor 2 is shifting slightly from November 15th to November 8th.
• The sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been pushed back to August 16th from March 15th, 2013.
• The Ben Stiller-directed remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will land on Christmas Day, 2013.
• The currently untitled comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig has been set for April 5th, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on each of the aforementioned films.

The success of Marvel’s The Avengers has allowed the comic book universe to introduce its rogues gallery to theater-going audiences, bringing in such extraterrestrial villains as Thanos, the Mad Titan.  Thor was the first of the recent Marvel movies to use other-worldly magic as a power source instead of Tony Stark’s technology in Iron Man or the science behind the genesis of Captain America and the Hulk.  In a recent interview, Kevin Feige confirmed that the death-obsessed Eternal would not be making an appearance in Thor 2; another big villain would be stepping in.  We know that Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman will reprise the roles of Thor and Jane Foster respectively (not to mention the return of Idris Elba as Heimdall).  We also know that Tom Hiddleston will return as Loki, but that’s not a new big villain.  And we know Mads Mikkelsen is set to play a villain, so who could it be? Hit the jump to see what Feige had to say.