Kenneth Branagh: 'Thor was critical to success of Marvel Cinematic Universe'

Kenneth Branagh believes Thor was critical to the success of future Marvel movies.

The actor/director, who helmed the comic book adaptation back in 2011, has revealed that the fantasy blockbuster was essential to the next stage of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking to Collider, Branagh explained that Thor's fictional fantasy world, which featured the kingdom of Asgard located in the Nine Realms, was key to bridging the gap between the Earth-bound superheroes, such as Iron Man and Captain America, to the space-bound elements.

“There was no question that tonally Thor was critical after the massive success of the brilliant Iron Man from Mr. (Jon) Favreau and Robert (Downey Jr.), and then slightly less successful in their terms The Incredible Hulk," he explained, referencing Edward Norton's box office bomb back in 2008.

"Thor became critical to being the sort of tonal bridge – featuring literally a rainbow bridge as well – between as it were the Earthbound and space-bound and fantasy-bound parts of the Marvel universe," Branagh continued, noting that there were "enormously important" elements of future movies, including The Avengers in 2012, that couldn't be explained in other Marvel movies.

"So there was a kind of connective matrix that Thor, Asgard, the Nine Realms and everything that it involved could provide inside that large Marvel Cinematic Universe that was enormously important that couldn’t be done by the brilliant Captain America, because it wasn’t the same material," the 59-year-old stated.