First Look at NEW Thor!!

The long blond hair. The dark tunic with silver discs. The blood-red cape. Yep, that's Thor, all right.

With excitement at a fever pitch for next weekend's release of "Iron Man 2," buzz is already building for Marvel Studio's next adaptation of one of their classic comic books. To fuel the fire, we have the exclusive look at the first photo anywhere of star Chris Hemsworth in costume as the God of Thunder in next summer's "Thor."

26-year-old Australian actor Hemsworth first gained attention from movie audiences in his brief but memorable role as George Kirk -- Captain James T. Kirk's father -- in the opening scene of last year's "Star Trek." Many well-known actors were considered for the part; Daniel Craig said he was approached to play Thor but turned it down. After an exhaustive search, Hemsworth won the role over many other young hopefuls. He even beat out his younger brother, Liam, who was most recently seen opposite his real-life girlfriend Miley Cyrus in "The Last Song."

From what we can see of the costume designed by Oscar winner Alexandra Byrne, it looks to be inspired by the latest version of the character from the comic books drawn by French artist Olivier Coipel. While Thor's basic look hasn't changed much since he was originally created by Jack Kirby in 1962, the suit in the movie adopts the more modern look with an armored chest piece and textured sleeves. Slightly different is Hemsworth's beard, which has been used for Thor in the comics but only occasionally. The two most prominent elements of Thor's look that we don't see, however, are his signature winged helmet and his weapon, the mighty hammer Mjolnir.

"Thor" doesn't open for another year, but there are some hints about the movie within next weekend's "Iron Man 2." Like the first movie, where Samuel L. Jackson's cameo was hidden after the credits, there is a bonus scene in the sequel for those who stick around to the very end. Of course, Hemsworth will team up with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans -- who was recently cast as Captain America in his own movie -- for "The Avengers," which is scheduled for release in 2012.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, "Thor," which also stars Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman, will thunder into theaters on May 6, 2011.

-- from Yahoo! Movies.com