Thor 2 has suffered a casting setback, with Mads Mikkelsen revealing he won't be able to take on the role of the sequel's chief antagonist due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts.
Mikkelsen had reportedly been in discussions to play the film's big bad, but Marvel moved too slowly, and the Danish actor was snapped up by NBC to join forthcoming prequel series, Hannibal .
"Yeah, that’s not happening unfortunately," said Mikkelsen of his involvement with Thor 2 . "I had a meeting with them, but they were a little too late. And then Hannibal came in, and everything just came in the same period, so now it’s not happening."
It's the second time Marvel have lost out to Hannibal in quick succession, with David Slade vacating the director's chair for the forthcoming Daredevil reboot in order to helm the show's pilot. The property currently has a script ready and waiting, with Fox looking to find a replacement as soon as possible.
As for Thor 2 , it looks like it's back to the drawing board as far as casting is concerned. That said, Tom Hiddleston is already set to reprise his role as Loki, so at least there's one sneeringly malevolent presence guaranteed to make an appearance...
And for more Thor awesomeness, you should check out our Thor: The Dark World - 50 Best Moments feature. Just click on the image below to get started...
