Thor

‘Thor 2’: Chris Hemsworth says Patty Jenkins has done her homework

Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in "Thor." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

“Thor” star Chris Hemsworth is sad to see director Kenneth Branagh leave Asgard, but he said the filmmaker’s rumored replacement, Patty Jenkins, is up to the cosmic task she would inherit.

“She has a great take on the story and a solid grasp on that kind of universe,” the Aussie actor said Wednesday on the set of “Snow White and the Huntsman” in eastern Wales.

Hemsworth, who plays the Huntsman in the ambitious fantasy film, was filming horseback scenes on a beach for a battle sequence against Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron — who just happened to win an Oscar in the Jenkins-directed 2003 film “Monster.” Jenkins (who also directed the acclaimed pilot episode of AMC’s “The Killing” )  isn’t completely locked in for the Marvel Studios sequel but has confirmed that she is in advanced talks to pick up where Branagh left off. The first “Thor” film pulled in more than $449 million in worldwide box office and the sequel is scheduled for July 2013.

Patty Jenkins (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“Snow White and the Huntsman,” directed by Rupert Sanders, wraps in December, and early next year Hemsworth will be working on Ron Howard’s “Rush.” The actor will also (finally) be seen next year in the revived and retooled “Red Dawn” remake as well as “The Avengers,” the Joss Whedon film that unites all the Hollywood heroes of the Marvel Universe.

The character of Thor was a childhood passion for Branagh; does Jenkins have a similar connection to the realm on the far side of the Rainbow Bridge? Hemsworth said in his meeting with Jenkins she seemed like a filmmaker worthy of picking up the franchise’s cinematic hammer.

“Branagh read every comic book he could get his hands on,” Hemsworth said. “She also looked like she had done her homework.”