MUMBAI: Christopher Eccleston, best known in Nerdville for playing the ninth incarnation of the Doctor on Doctor Who, has been signed on to play the lead villain role in Thor 2: The Dark World.

The casting is said to be bigger than Zachary Quinto playing Spock and even bigger than David Tennant playing up a role in a Harry Potter film.

The news comes a few weeks after Mads Mikkelson backed out of the then-unnamed villain role, citing scheduling conflicts with his work on NBC's Hannibal series.

With news of Eccleston's casting, "we finally have a name that he would be playing. He will play Malekith, ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, a foe of Thor.

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.