Thanks to my DVD subscription to Netflix, I’ve had the splendid opportunity over the last couple of years (as other fans have no doubt) in being able to rediscover and revisit some episodes of Classic Doctor Who, some of which I’ve not seen in decades.

In the course of these nostalgia trips, I began noticing that there were quite a few actors who were popping up in many of the classic serials that had also played a role in some of the Star Wars films. On top of that, there has been some Star Wars actors show up in the new series as well.

About a year ago, I came across a few submissions at the Doctor Who Subreddit over at Reddit.com – notably this one and this other one – showing the crossover of Doctor Who actors who had also been in Harry Potter.

Consequently, in the lead-up to the premiere of Series 7, I decided to put together a bit of a timey-wimey infographic matrix thingy that looks at the crossover of actors between Doctor Who and Star Wars. Hope you like it, and feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The trades are reporting that Sir Anthony Hopkins is currently in negotiations to appear in Kenneth Branagh‘s adaptation of Marvel’s Thor. Hopkins would be playing the Norse god Odin, father of Thor, who exiles his son into the disabled body of a mortal doctor in order to teach him some useful virtues and humility in life. This news comes as a bit of a surprise as it was announced back in early June that Brian Blessed would be playing Odin.

The movie will tell the story of the cocky and spoiled hero whose lack of discipline re-ignites an ancient war, forcing Odin to banish him to the above-mentioned mortality without memory of his status as a god. While inhabiting this human body, he discovers his true identity and how to switch back and forth from the handicapped Dr. Donald Blake to the warrior Thor, God of Thunder. As with most comic book based movies, this is expected to be something of an origins story to set the character up for those who are not familiar with it. This is also necessary due to the fact that Thor will be part of the epic joining of superheroes in The Avengers, which will feature Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America.

In continuing with his casting of actors who are mostly unknown in the United States, Thor director Kenneth Branagh has cast boom-voiced actor Brian Blessed in the role of Odin, father of Thor and Loki, as well as All-Father of the Norse afterlife, Valhalla.

Blessed is perhaps best known for his role as Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon, but has appeared in some well-known movies such as: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as Lord Locksley, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as Boss Nass, and Disney’s Tarzan as the villain Clayton.

So far, Branagh has only cast unknowns with Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and now Blessed as Odin. Again, Thor is a comic that used a lot of Old English dialogue, so Branagh has brought in the best actors to perform that kind of style. On the other hand, will the lack of star-power in this Marvel summer blockbuster affect its box office take?