I’ve classified this as rumor for now, there’s no hard proof and the article might well have been mistranslated. However, both Law and De Niro have worked with Thor director Kenneth Branagh in the past, which gives some credence to the claims.

Which characters would these actors play?

In other casting news, Stan Lee has confirmed to Collider that he’ll be taking up his cameo role for Thor, though he doesn’t yet know the details.

[WARRIORS] A fearless warrior race, where size, strength and ferocity define a member’s rank in both the social and military hierarchy. Warriors born in this society face the harshest ecological conditions imaginable and thrive in environments where lesser creatures, including humans, quickly perishes. Theirs is a world created to cull weakness from the universe to ensure their supreme sovereignty spreads across the stars. MUST BE 6’2 OR TALLER sptv050769, NO BODYBUILDER TYPES. SAG ROLE BUT NO LINES. MUST BE COMFORTABLE WEARING PROSTHETICS.

Cinematical speculate that this is a casting call for the Skrulls,

You can’t really get any more militaristic and conquest driven than these guys, and one definitely needs prosthetics to pull them off. But what the heck would Skrulls be doing in Thor? Even Loki hasn’t had much to do with those creeps until recently. The obvious answer would be to have them come in and set up The Avengers, but with two villains and two love interests, you’d think there was enough crazy to go around. Anyone out there have a better guess as to who our prosthetic-heavy warriors might be?

Fans have also suggested they could be the Kree, a warrior race that have reached their evolutionary peak or Frost Giants. However, another rightfully points out, it is likely they will just be Asgardian extras.

“I had a little meeting. I think I can say that much. […] [’Thor’ director] Kenneth Branagh is a bad-ass. I’ve been a fan of his as an actor and I know he’s gonna be amazing as a director for this piece.”

“Believe me, I’m itching to say all kinds of stuff,”

[…]

“It’s going to be a beautiful thing, I’m sure,” said Collins. “It’s an amazing comic book. If you grew up reading these comic books, he was definitely a bad-ass, that guy.”

No word yet on the character he might play.

A good comparison between Blessed and his new role can be made via the Flash movie, wherein he played the King of the Hawk Men:

And in video:

“We will probably be having cast announcements in the next month or so on Thor,” he told us. “We’re looking to cast Loki and Odin soon, and the main female role. And we’ll also hopefully have lockdown shortly, gearing towards the beginning of production, which will be early next year. So I think there will be a lot of announcements between now and then.”

“But [director Kenneth] Branagh’s here, we’re prepping, and he’s put together some spectacular animatics already for our first action scene. We’re digging into the second and third now, and we are just embarking on a rewrite of the draft.”

“I think they’re looking for someone more Nordic-looking,” Tatum told MTV News during a press event for his new film, “Fighting.” However, Tatum confirmed that he had indeed been interested in the part, and even met with director Kenneth Branagh about donning the golden locks and toting the mythical hammer.

We’re still left waiting for that key casting decision. Still in the running, and presumed to be at the top of the list are:

Charlie Hunnam
Tom Hiddleston
Alexandar Skarsgard
Liam Hemsworth
Joel Kinnaman.

Still in the air are the rumors that Josh Hartnett may play villain Loki and that Natalie Portman will have some involvement in a key female role.

She comments that there is a big push to cast Josh Hartnett as either Thor or the antagonist Loki; whether this turns out to be the case is questionable, especially considering Hartnett’s previous refusal to play Superman. There is also an equal force wanting a relatively unknown actor to play the role; other actors inline include brits Charlie Hunnam and Tom Hiddleston, Alexandar Skarsgard, Liam Hemsworth and Joel Kinnaman.

Meanwhile, quite surprisingly, Natalie Portman is the current top choice as the female lead. /Film speculate that this could be either of:

1. Amora the Enchantress, Thor’s Asgard love-interest and antagonist.
2. Sif, Thor’s wife who is also a Goddess in Asgard.
3. Jane Foster, Donald Blake’s nurse who eventually develops feelings for him, without knowing that Blake is Thor

Do you see Portman as a Goddess or Enchantress?