Brian Kirk, the Irish-born director of numerous TV shows including episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire as well as Showtime’s Dexter, and the BBC’s Luther and Great Expectations, is in talks to direct Thor 2 for Marvel Studios.  The first Thor movie has earned over $447 million worldwide and Marvel is anxious to bring Chris Hemsworth back to the big screen after his appearance in Joss Whedon’s Avengers. 

 

Thor 2 has a scheduled release date of July 26th, 2013 so Marvel needs to get cracking on the film. Variety reports that Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first Thor film, declined an offer to helm the sequel. Don Payne, who co-wrote the first Thor movie and scripted Fox’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, is writing the screenplay for the Thor sequel.

 

Kirk has never directed a big budget Hollywood movie, but he has shown an ability to deal with create a powerful screen fantasy saga with Game of Thrones, a complex project that involved dealing with a large cast. Kirk is currently in the midst of directing a 3-part adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations starring Ray Winstone and Gillian Anderson.