Christopher Eccleston cast as the villain in <em>Thor 2</em>, geekdom is immediately overwhelmed

This is bigger than Zachary Quinto playing Spock, and even bigger than David Tennant showing up in a Harry Potter movie. Christopher Eccleston, best known in Nerdville for playing the ninth incarnation of the Doctor on Doctor Who, has snagged the lead villain role in Thor 2: The Dark World. How will those of us who are both Marvel and Doctor Who geeks even handle this news? I mean, can you just picture Eccleston and Tom Hiddleston joining forces and bringing all that ‘Ston-cold badness in one movie? (Sorry, that was lame.) (Just kidding, not sorry at all.)

This casting news comes a couple of weeks after Mads Mikkelson backed out of the then-unnamed villain role, citing scheduling conflicts with his work on NBC’s Hannibal series. When he was cast, and even when he’d left, we still didn’t know which Thor foe he was supposed to be playing. But now, with news of Eccleston’s casting, we finally have a name: Malekith! Malekith the Accursed! Malekith, ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim! And according to io9, “he dresses like a Mardi Gras float crashing into a Scandinavian black metal music video.” And that? That is fantastic.

Eccleston, a seasoned British actor whose career includes a twisted role in Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave, has played his fair share of villains, such as Major Henry West in 28 Days Later and Destro in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. And when he played the Doctor in the first series of the new Doctor Who, he was happy-go-lucky while also war-torn and scarred. So my prediction is that his Malekith will be an evil combination of badass and impish. Oh, the slumber parties he and Loki will have!

Christopher Eccleston will play Thor 2’s villain, Malekith the Accursed! [io9]