Idris Elba joins Marvel Studios' "Thor"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Idris Elba has joined the cast of "Thor," Marvel Studios' film centering on the Norse god of thunder.

Kenneth Branagh is directing the adaptation of the Marvel comic. Chris Hemsworth will star as Thor; Tom Hiddleston will play Loki, and Natalie Portman is the love interest, Jane Foster.

Elba will play Heimdall, who, as the guardian of Asgard, stands on the BiFrost Bridge ready to defend the city from intruders.

Elba, who had a recurring role on "The Office," most recently appeared on the big screen in "Obsessed" opposite Beyonce Knowles. He next appears in the heist thriller "Taken" and will have a turn in Dark Castle's DC Comics adaptation "The Losers."

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)