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We reported just yesterday morning that Marvel is preparing to shoot their next big comic book film Thor in January, with director Kenneth Branagh now ready to get the story of gods and warriors from another dimension underway. And with that has come a few last minute casting decisions.

Per a Variety article that has mysteriously disappeared off their site since it posted about an hour ago, Marvel has signed Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson and Tadanobu Asano to play The Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god Thor, who will be played by Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek).

Stuart Townsend, who recently wrote and directed the excellent political drama Battle in Seattle, which starred his fiancee Charlize Theron, is best known for playing the vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned and starring alongside Ryan Reynolds in Chaos Theory. He is also a frequent voice cast contributor to Robot Chicken. Ray Stevenson broke out in a big way after starring in the HBO series Rome, going on to star as Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone. Tadanobu Asano has had a long-running career in Japan, with his most recognizable roles being in the imported films Mongol (2007) and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003).

The Warriors Three are comprised of Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, three Asgardian warriors not based in Norse mythology. This casting negates previous rumors that the likes of Robert De Niro and Jude Law would be taking on these roles — ultimately giving relatively fresh faces to these characters. And as I’ve said many times before, that is something I support. Townsend is a solid actor, as is Stevenson, and Asano has shown himself to be more than capable of playing well in big action pieces. From where I’m sitting, this casting falls in line with much of the work that Branagh has already done on Thor — it is simply excellent.