Kenneth Branagh is in negotiations to direct Thor, the adaptation of the Marvel Comics property into a live-action feature set to be released in 2010.

According to Variety, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige's choice of Branagh is surprising, as Branagh hasn't really directed an action-heavy film since his debut on Henry V, a bloody telling of the British king's conquest of France.

The Thor comicbook adaptation, penned by Mark Protosevich, follows disabled medical student Donald Blake, who has an alter ego as the hammer-wielding Norse god Thor.

A production date has not been set.