UPDATE! Paramount tells us that a new still from “Thor” was released in today’s USA TODAY.

Here it is :

Hey gang,

Thanks for the emails, tweets and sky-signs congratulating me on the gig – should be fun.

That’s about all I can say about that at the moment…. but we can talk “Thor” and “Captain America” if you like?

Firstly, “Thor”. Ken Branagh. Kirk’s Dad. Tony Hopkins.

Looks good.

I’m a huge fan of Kenneth Branagh… and so should you be. Think about it, Branagh has never given us a bad film – even “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” which, though not a shade on the old James Whale flicks, was still fun. Lovely production design. And I also don’t believe “Dead Again” deserved the copping it garnered. That’s a fucking great show.

Casting wise, I like the look of the lead, er, kid here – have only seen him in “Star Trek”, but he looks the part (suppose anyone can look the part though – what’s it take? a beard and blond wig?) and from what I’ve read, isn’t a bad actor. But by casting this Chris Hemsworth in the title role as sir Hammer-a-lot, and to a lesser degree, Chris Evans in “Captain America”, it’s clear that Marvel is cost-cutting. A few years ago they’d have been chasing Brad Pitt for “Captain America” and Matt Damon as “Thor” but now, ostensibly realizing they’ve an audience who are going to see the films ‘no matter what’, they’ve gone for the cheapest options. No big fucking deal… I guess. I’m Okay with that – so long as the cost-cutting stops and ends with the casting (though hiring Joe Johnston, of “Jurassic Park III” fame, to direct “Captain America” would point to the studio’s determination to bring that film in for as little as possible – financially-speaking) and hasn’t affected the effects budget, script polishes and production design. They say that “you don’t need a lot of money to make a good movie” and that’s true – but you do need a lot of money to make a good “superhero” movie. Think about it. “Superman IV : The Quest for Peace” vs “Superman Returns”.

As for “The First Avenger : Captain America”, I’m – and probably only because we haven’t seen anything on the film yet – still on the fence there. As I said, Johnston is the director. We all love “The Rocketeer” – but at the same time, you couldn’t find characters more dissimilar than Thor and Cliff Secord. Mostly, I’m just not convinced that Johnston is any more than a point and shoot filmmaker – you all saw “The Wolfman” right?

Before we carry on, let me show you these Comic-Con Exclusive teaser posters (based on concept art) for “Thor” and “The First Avenger : Captain America” which will likely end up in my goodie bag by the end of Comic-Con.

Here’s what I think is going to happen over the next year or so : DC’s comic-book movies will trump Marvel’s – not necessarily at the box-office (though they easily could), but in terms of quality. I don’t know about you but I’m already much more excited about seeing “Green Lantern” than I am “Captain America” but again, that might just be because a ‘Martin Campbell/Ryan Reynolds’ superhero film sounds a lot more appealing than a ‘Joe Johnston/Chris Evans’ superhero flick.
Also, DC are going to give us another “Batman” flick (Oh, and I love the idea of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as The Joker! I also like the rumor floating about concerning Rachel Weisz playing Catwoman! Purrfect!) and, at some stage, a new “Superman” movie – which Clint recently reported Jonathan Nolan is in talks to direct, and that a popular TV star is the frontrunner to play the lead role in (He’s not referring to Tom Welling from “Smallville” or Ian Somerhalder from “The Vampire Diaries” either. Ryan Seacrest is shit outta luck, too). You know who I think would be good? This guy, Noah Bean, played Rose Byrne’s dead boyfriend on the first season of “Damages”. A little bit too Brandon Routh, maybe?