By Connor LaLone

Marvel Studios has released the long awaited teaser trailer for July release “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The film will deviate from the established format of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the way in which “Love and Thunder” will be the fourth movie to primarily feature Thor Odinson, played by Chris Hemsworth (“Extraction”). Traditionally, Marvel has followed the pattern of creating trilogies that tidily wrap up the storylines of their respective characters. 

After two underwhelming films, “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”) was called upon to direct “Thor: Ragnarok,” which signalled a stark thematic shift for the blonde-haired Asgardian god. While the first two “Thor” films attempted to be brooding, deep and dark, Waititi effectively transitioned the nature of the series and perhaps even of the entire MCU with “Thor: Ragnarok.” 

The New Zealander deserves much praise for his role in turning around the series, and his success was rewarded as he was chosen to direct “Thor: Love and Thunder.” 

Since its announcement,  anticipation for the film has been incredible, with fans clamoring for any news, images or video of the movie. The trailer currently possesses the “#1 on trending” title on YouTube and at the time of writing, had accumulated over 22 million views in just over a day. The trailer itself packs much detail into its 90 seconds, giving fans a glimpse at what to expect. 

The first scene of the teaser shows a young Thor running through the woods, progressively aging. These scenes are accompanied by a voiceover from Thor himself, who has a much more subdued and somber tone than we have come to expect from the god of thunder. As the trailer progresses, Thor suggests he is more than willing to retire from being a hero and instead focus on living a calmer, more quiet life. 

Following up on where “Avengers: Endgame” left off, The Guardians of the Galaxy feature in the trailer for “Love and Thunder,” and seem poised to play a pivotal role in the upcoming release. Peter Quill, (Chris Pratt, “Jurassic World”) will resume his role as resident funny-man, and the rest of his crew also features in the teaser. 

Roughly midway through the trailer, a figure is seen grasping a lightning bolt, who can almost certainly be assumed to be Zeus, who has been, if accidentally, announced to be played by Russell Crowe (“Man of Steel”). This seemingly will open the “Olympians” to the MCU. The Olympians are the pantheon of Greek, and/or Roman, gods. 

While not explicitly shown within the trailer, Christian Bale (“Ford v Ferrari”) has been cast as Gorr the God Butcher, a recurring comic book villain for Thor. It seems likely that Gorr will be the primary antagonist seeking to smite Zeus, Thor, and perhaps even the Egyptian gods that have featured in the first few episodes of Disney+ series “Moon Knight.” 

Several fan favorites are confirmed to return with their appearance in the trailer, perhaps most notably Korg, voiced by Waititi himself. 

The ending of the trailer is wildly fascinating, as it features Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, “Jackie”) wearing the iconic winged helmet and summoning a seemingly reforged Mjolnir. This suggests she will assume the mantle of “Thor” as she does in the comics. 

In turn, it seems very likely that “Thor: Love and Thunder” will be the most ambitious Marvel Studios film yet. The cast of characters promises a humorous and enjoyable experience.

Image from Marvel Entertainment via YouTube