The Doctor Vs. Thor – Christopher Eccleston Cast As The Villain In Thor: The Dark World

A Time Lord against the God of Thunder? Now that is a fight I’d pay to see and pretty soon, you’ll be able to! Doctor Who actor Christopher Eccleston has been cast in Thor 2, aka Thor: The Dark World. Hit the jump to find out which Marvel villain he’ll be playing. 

You may recall, Mads Mikkelsen was originally set to play the villain in Thor: The Dark World but later dropped out. Now it will be Chris vs. Chris as Eccleston steps into the role opposite Chris Hemsworth. The villain? Malekith the Accursed, ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim.

Non-comic readers say, “Who?”

To be honest, I’m a comic reader and this guy isn’t familiar to me either. Malekith the Accursed isn’t exactly a household name like Lex Luthor, now is he? Malekith was introduced in Thor #344 in 1984 and is part of a race of Dark Elves. Like Thor, they possess superhuman strength, speed, agility, etc. In the comics, Malekith has used the Casket of Ancient Winters, an artifact which causes the owner to grow younger, and something you may remember seeing in Odin’s weaponry (and used by Loki) in the original Thor film. And yes, Malekith and Loki have been known to work together on occasion. Using magic, he can also teleport, project energy, and create illusions, though he’s vulnerable to iron.

Of course Eccleston isn’t only known for Who. He’s had roles in 28 Days Later, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Heroes. But I know there’s going to be a large segment of the Thor sequel viewing audience who will be waiting for the actor to reach for his sonic screwdriver while fighting Hemsworth. And perhaps, even rooting for him to win.

Thor: The Dark World will hit theaters November 8, 2013.

(via HitFix)

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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