Kenneth Branagh‘s upcoming adaptation of the Norse god comic book superhero Thor is showing up in the news more and more often these days, and with each and every new morsel, the excitement for the movie builds up steadily. The latest news announcement from Marvel is that Thor’s Asgardian god friends the Warriors Three — Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun — have now been cast!

Branagh has contracted the talents of Stuart Townsend to play the role of Fandral, Tadanobu Asano for Hogun, and the fantastic Ray Stevenson for the part of Volstagg. Townsend is best known for his work as the vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned and as Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Stevenson recently ended many lives in Punisher: Warzone, but is best used as a brutal warrior, as he has played in King Arthur and on HBO’s Rome. Asano is a Japanese actor who hasn’t done an American film yet, but he appeared in the Oscar nominated Mongol.

The Warriors Three are gods in Asgard like Thor, but they are not based on actual Norse mythology like Thor and other characters are. Not being familiar with them, I’m not sure how to react, but judging by images I’ve seen and the casting here, they sound like they could be a great addition to the final film.

Thor stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor; Tom Hiddleston as sibling arch-nemesis, Loki; and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster; Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Samuel L. Jackson as everywhere man Nick Fury.