The Thor films, like its fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe solo-centric efforts, have become subordinate to enormous implications from crossover events—specifically Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame—which significantly complicated the maintenance of its own independent numerical narrative. Marvel already knew this going into 2017’s third entry, Thor: Ragnarok, and opted to embrace the overlaps with director Taika Waititi, who brought balls-to-the-wall comedic chaos. Indeed, Waititi’s return for fourth film Thor: Love and Thunder is exponentially amping things up, as now evidenced by an insane introductory trailer.
It’s safe to say that the Love and Thunder trailer’s prominent usage of a ‘80s hair metal hit in Guns N’ Roses’ hard-hitting ballad, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” is sending strong signals about the film’s kitschy tone. Indeed, any pretense of brooding seriousness present in the solo films of Chris Hemsworth’s Norse deity—specifically from 2013’s Thor: The Dark World—that the transformative raucousness of Ragnarok might have missed is, in all likelihood, scheduled for decimation on a cosmic scale with the events we’re witnessing in Love and Thunder. While the debut clip is short on specifics, director Waititi—who also scripted the film alongside Jennifer Kaytin Robinson—is evidently going the full Guardians of the Galaxy quasi-comedy route famously utilized by director James Gunn… which, make no mistake, is a good thing in this case. Check out the trailer just below!
As we last saw Thor, at the end of 2019 epic Avengers: Endgame, he was left in need of some serious soul-searching. This would compel him to embark on a galactic journey as a temporary ship-mate with Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians crew, which is the point at which Love and Thunder seems to start. Pertinently, we see Thor engaging in a Rocky-esque training montage to shed his now-iconic Endgame weight gain… albeit using oversized chains attached to the skeletal corpse of an extraterrestrial giant (which certainly beats Rocky’s chicken-chasing routine). Thus, we get a quick explanation for why Thor is once again trim, buff and well-kept for this film—fortuitously in time for a long-awaited reunion with his Earthly ex, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who returns to the MCU scene after nearly a decade absence from her last appearance in The Dark World, save for a voice performance in an episode of alternate-reality animated series What If…? last year.
Apropos to said reunion, the clip teases the superheroic culmination of the contemporary-comic-book-borrowed concept, in which Jane is deemed worthy enough to wield hammer Mjolnir (mysteriously repaired after Hela destroyed it in Ragnarok), and becomes Mighty Thor (as showcased in the title image). However, rumors point to a contextual twist akin to the comics, namely that Jane’s worthiness is acquired in the aftermath of a breast cancer diagnosis, which is something that would certainly diverge from the fun tone of this trailer.
While the Love and Thunder teaser touts a lot of buddy comedy moments for Thor, be it with Quill and the Guardians or his Kronan cohort, Korg (once again played by director Waititi himself), the film’s plot will be driven by someone we’re not seeing in the trailer: a pale, powerful galactic death dealer to deities, called Gorr the God Butcher, as played by a former Batman in Christian Bale. However, the villain-influenced theme of Gods being targeted—perhaps due to their profligate hubris—is briefly exemplified with scenes teasing the presence of a god of the Greek variety, specifically the thunderbolt-wielding lord of Olympus, Zeus, as played by Russell Crowe. While we don’t quite get a shot of his face, his extravagant domain is prominently showcased here, and we do briefly see a scene in which Thor, Korg and other companions arrive in Zeus’s golden halls, perhaps to address the incursions of Gorr; a threat that will likely serve as the focus for future trailers.
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to test its worthiness at theaters on July 8.
