In a move that many comic book aficionados may not have expected, Marvel Comics has announced that one of their most dominant male characters has been given a sex change. In the new comic series due out in October, Thor, based on the Norse God of Thunder and one of Marvel's 'big three', will be a female character. But this isn't just big news for fans of the printed material.

The character Thor has had a huge impact on screen as well and has been involved in two hugely successful films, Thor and Thor: The Dark World and is an integral part of The Avengers ensemble and its forthcoming sequel.

So, the big question is: who will play this new female fighting force when it inevitably hits the cinemas?

Angelina Jolie

An obvious choice simply because she was one of the first women to break the female action figure barrier.

Angelina JolieAngelina Jolie is the original action actresses

She took no prisoners as the titular character in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its sequel, was prepared to kill her husband as a skilled, assassin in Mr and Mrs Smith and showed no mercy as a wanted CIA operative in Salt.

But, as Jolie expands her dark side through more subtle modes such as the evil Queen in Maleficent while developing her own personal reputation as a Special Envoy for the United Nations: has she grown out of guns, hand to hand combat and playing rough?

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Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer LawrenceJennifer Lawrence is a favourite in Hollywood

Maybe Angie could pass the mantle on to the new generation of kick-ass women in which Jennifer Lawrence fits as a result of her portrayal of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games trilogy and Mystique in X-Men First Class and X-Men Days of Future Past.

Like Jolie, Lawrence is not simply a one-woman action heroine, there to save the day and do little else, but is very capable of playing a wide variety of characters and emotional possibilities as evident from the two Oscars that must surely sit somewhere very proudly in her home.

Emma Stone

Emma StoneEmma Stone was great as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man

After displaying a feisty performance as Gwen Stacy, love interest of the hero in The Amazing Spider-Man, could Stone be ready to swap her supporting role for a lead one?

Her acting skills have shown her to be capable of stunning, funny, interesting and powerful characters which could be everything that our new female Thor is looking to be.

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Rooney Mara

Rooney MaraRooney Mara was superb in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

A perfect fit as the complicated heroine in the American remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Mara is dark, brooding and immeasurably talented.

With such striking looks and just a hint of deviousness in her stare, Mara could prove to be the dark horse that really brings out a depth of character in Marvel's new female force.

Next page: Who else could play Thor?