Lost Veteran Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Joins the Cast of Thor 2, Sadly Not as Black Panther

It’s true: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was reportedly in talks to play the lead in a Black Panther movie (that is, a movie based on the Marvel superhero Black Panther) back in 2009. But as we all know, making a Black Panther movie is way more difficult than making a Thor movie, which is why Marvel is making a movie with a talking raccoon and a sentient tree instead.

But I digress! Akinnuoye-Agbaje is locked to play Algrim the Strong and Kurse (two different identities of the same character, kinda), a mighty warrior of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s face might be familiar to you from Lost, Oz, or even G.I. Joe, so the guy is neither unfamiliar with have action figures made in his likeness, nor with sharing a credits roll with Christopher Eccleston, who will be playing the role of Malekith the Accursed, leader of the Dark Elves.

Variety describes the character:

In the comicbooks, Algrim the Strong was the most powerful of a race of Dark Elves, who is coerced by Malekith to fight Thor. After he’s betrayed by Malekith and injured during a battle, Algrim is healed and transformed into a much more powerful being called Kurse, who is twice as a strong as Thor.

I’ll admit: I’m not particularly familiar with Thor’s extended canon of characters, Lost, Oz, or Akinnuoye-Agbaje. But I do like the fact that, with this move, Marvel seems committed to maintaining the level of racial diversity it established in its Asgardian characters elsewhere in the universe as well.

(via MTV Splash Page.)