Shakespearean star Kenneth Branagh is the surprise favourite to direct the next big Marvel comic book movie Thor.The British actor - more famous for his roles onstage - is negotiating with Marvel bosses over the movie, due for release in 2010.Branagh's last big-screen directorial outing was 2007's Sleuth, starring Sir Michael Caine and Jude Law.But he is most recognised in film for directing 1989 Shakespeare epic Henry V; Robert De Niro in 1994's Frankenstein, and a 1996 version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, with himself in the lead role.Thor follows the tale of a disabled medical student with the Norse god as an alter ego.

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