To think that we are getting two movies from Marvel Studios again next year, and maybe three the year after, gives me the slight tingles. Iron Man 3 is on its way to completing its production, while Thor: The Dark World is scheduled to shoot sometime next month. The film has already cast Christopher Eccleston as Malekith The Accursed, the film’s primary villain. Now it’s time for director Alan Taylor to turn his attention to the supporting cast, and he is starting off in a pretty big way.

In what is sure to excite some Star Trek fans, Alice Krige has signed on for a mysterious role in Thor: The Dark World. The actress confirmed that she has a role in the film at the Star Trek convention this weekend in Las Vegas, but stopped short of saying who she would be playing. However, she did mention that her role would be relatively small and that she’d be wearing a fair amount of makeup that would make her unrecognizable to some. So it’s probably safe to say that she won’t be playing a human or any of the deities in Asgard.

Due to his commitment to the NBC drama Hannibal, Mads Mikkelsen is unable to play the role of the villain in Thor: The Dark World. Luckily another actor has stepped in to fill his shoes.

Christopher Eccleston will play the role of Malekith The Accursed in the upcoming film. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the casting along with the identity of the villain. Like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the answer as to who the villain was lied in the film’s subtitle, The Dark World.

Eccleston is best known for his roles in Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later and is known for being the ninth Doctor on the hit show Doctor Who.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige promised us that the villain in Thor: The Dark World would be big. It wasn’t clear if he meant physically big or just big in terms of recognition, but the rumor that is going around tells us that it is the latter (and/or former depending on how you perceive the character), and that it would have fit into Mads Mikkelsen’s physique, had he stayed on to play the villain.

According to an interview with stuntman James Grogan, we could be seeing elves in Thor: The Dark World. And, though just speculation, that could mean we’ll be seeing Malekith the Accursed as the villain.

At the beginning of the Iron Man 3 panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012, Marvel president Kevin Feige revealed the official titles, release dates, and logos for some of the Marvel Studios’ upcoming titles.

Feige revealed that the titles and release dates for Thor 2 and Captain America 2 would be Thor: The Dark World, arriving in theaters on November 8, 2013, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which will be released on April 4, 2014. [Update – see title cards here below.]