First official Chris Hemsworth Thor photo released

Marvel continues to stoke the flames of their blockbuster comic book film factory! The world is all a-buzz in anticipation of next week’s release of Iron Man 2 and Marvel is capitalizing on the frenzy by tossing out the first official image of Chris Hemsworth as the Mighty Thor!

It definitely has the Shakespearean feel of the comic book character, that’s for sure! (It looks a lot better than our cartoonish preview from a while back.)

Thor is due to hit theaters on May 6, 2011 and will feature yet another all-star supporting cast behind Hemsworth that includes Academy Award winning actor Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Renee Russo as Frigga, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Josh Dallas as Fandral, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, Idris Elba as Heimdall, as well as Colm Feore, Kat Dennings and award-winning actor Stellan Skarsgård.

From Marvel.com:

The epic adventure “Thor” spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

The screenplay for “Thor” was penned by Mark Protosevich as well as Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz, and Don Payne. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige will produce the film. Alan Fine, Stan Lee, David Maisel, and Marvel Studio’s Co-President, Louis D’Esposito, will executive produce.

In addition to Iron Man 2 and Thor Marvel Studios is also working on The First Avenger: Captain Americawhich is slated for a July 22, 2011 release and Marvel Studios’ The Avengers due out on May 4, 2012. Not bad for a movie production company that only began releasing movies last year! The recent purchase of Marvel by Disney will most certainly add more fuel to the engines in the form of capital, marketing and distribution. There is no word yet if Marvel and Disney are planning to take our suggestions for some potential Disney/Marvel mash-ups.

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