First Official Thor Image Shows Off Odin, Loki, And The Mighty Hammer

The news The Los Angeles Times is trumpeting in their piece today is that Captain America and Thor will be in 3D, but that should really come as no surprise to anyone who's been following the trajectory of Hollywood and the blockbusters they want to milk dry. The real news, though, is the image that goes along with the story-- the first official shot of Anthony Hopkins in costume as Odin, flanked by Chris Hemsworth as Thor (hammer in hand) and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. It's the first time we've seen all three characters together and the first glimpse we've gotten of Loki at all. Way to bury the lead, LA Times.

To be fair, the 3D story itself is a good one, including interviews with Thor director Kenneth Branagh and Captain America director Joe Johnston about their decisions to use the technology. Both admitted they were skeptical at first-- "" think it tends to be overused and can be a little bit gimmicky," Johnston admitted-- but after tests both with post-production 3D conversion and the 3D camera rigs themselves, they were convinced. Both movies will be converted after the fact, but Marvel president Kevin Feige was careful to note that the special effects have been conceived in 3D from the beginning, which will hopefully help avoid the horrible 3D that we could call the Clash of the Titans effect.

Feige particularly emphasized the "citadels of Asgard and the rainbow bridge at its gates" in Thor as effects that will work well in 3D:

"It's one of those maybe rare times where 3-D accentuates the story and the way the viewer is brought into this new world. That's what Avatar and Alice in Wonderland were all about -- going into new realms, new worlds ... I think with the Harry Potter films and ours you're about to see a slew of movies where 3-D was done by people who had the time."

The article also spends some time discussing Marvel's presence at Comic Con next week and the fact that they'll be announcing some major Avengers news, but they don't say if we'll be seeing any Thor and Cap footage in 3D by then. I'd imagine nothing from Captain America will be ready yet, but Thor has been filming for a while, and surely there's at least been enough time to post-convert a short sizzle reel? Either way we'll be on hand to let you know-- and hopefully get a much closer look at that hammer in Thor's hand. Speaking of which, check out a larger version of the above image below.

Katey Rich

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend