In the past, comic book writers were the last people Hollywood would go to for advice about their adaptations. That's changing, though. With many of the top-grossing films of the past decade based on comic book characters, the writers are gaining a little more cred.
At the recent Baltimore Comic-Con, prolific comic book scribe Brian Michael Bendis revealed that he is one of those rare comic creators afforded access in Hollywood, at least on the Kenneth Branagh-directed Thor movie currently in development at Marvel Studios. Bendis, one of the designers of the "Ultimate" universe, a modern retelling of classic Marvel characters designed to appeal to new readers, confirmed that Thor would precede the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, and that he had read the script. Bendis joked:
I'm Thor. A Jewy Thor. I was reading the new script just last night. Very, very good.
Thor is currently in pre-production, with an expected January 2010 start, and will feature Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Natalie Portman as Thor's human love interest, Jane Foster.