The discussion as to who exactly director Kenneth Branagh would cast in the title role of his upcoming Marvel adaptation of Thor has been floating around for quite a while now. It seemed likely that the best match, and most probable candidate for the role was True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgård, who had the look and size of what you would expect of Thor. Now comes official word via Nikki Finke that Thor has been cast, and it is Chris Hemsworth who will be playing him.

Hemsworth is an Australian actor who we’re not familiar with in these parts yet, but that’s not likely to last long. Like his fellow countryman Sam Worthington (who is also fairly unknown, but is appearing in Terminator Salvation, Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and others), Hemsworth has an impressive resume building before most of the movies are even released. He can be seen appearing as George Kirk (James T.’s dad) in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek; next up is Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s Cabin in the Woods, which he’s currently filming; and lastly, he was just cast as the lead in the upcoming Red Dawn remake. Apparently Australia’s ready to show off some its budding superstars… it should be interesting to see where these two are on the Hollywood list after all of these projects have been released.

Marvel’s Thor character is a Norse god whose father, Odin, puts him into the body of a disabled medical student as a lesson of humility. Eventually he learns of his much larger existence and begins to move forward as the powerful superhero with the winged helmet and of course, his powerful hammer, Mjolnir.

Thor is set for a June 11, 2011 release, but Chris Hemsworth will also be appearing with all of the other Marvel big boys in The Avengers in 2012.