Alexander Skarsgrd joins Battleship

True Blood star Alexander Skarsgård has signed on to appear in Peter Berg’s Battleship .

It’s something of a big screen consolation prize, considering Skarsgård previously lost out on playing Thor for Marvel to Chris Hemsworth.

Heat Vision report that the Swedish actor – famous for his hulking, charismatic turn as Eric in saucy TV hit True Blood – will play Taylor Kitsch’s brother, “a straight and narrow naval officer whom Kitsch, a wildly spirited naval officer, idolizes.”

The flick is an adaptation of the board game of the same name, and involves a brilliantly nutso plot that sees humans fighting aliens while aboard one of the titular ships.

Skarsgård is also attached to the dubious-sounding Straw Dogs remake, and Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia .

Battleship will hit screens on 18 May, 2012.

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Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.