A new warrior is wielding the hammer in the teaser for Thor: Love and Thunder. Marvel has released the first look at Taika Waititi’s rock opera-esque superhero flick, featuring a handful of characters from across the MCU catalog coming together to celebrate the last (?) original Avenger member in all his electric glory.
That includes the trailer’s biggest reveal: a buff Natalie Portman.
“My super hero-ing days are over,” Chris Hemsworth’s buff god says in the trailer as “Sweet Child O’ Mine” kicks into gear.
There’s quite a bit of Thor lore you’re going to need in order to understand most of this trailer. The last time we saw him, he was a brooding mess ready to quit his Avengers life, and it seems like that sentiment still stands. Still, there’s a little fire in the belly, as Thor works his body back into shape with giant metal chains in a gym straight out of The Dark Crystal (again: the ’80s are back).
This stems from some controversy that tracks back to Avengers: End Game. In the MCU’s epic conclusion to their decade-long saga, Thor was subjected to a slew of fat jokes and mocked for depression after the events of Infinity War. Perhaps Marvel will address these qualms fans had with the film, or, more likely, they’ll just make him work out until he’s a chiseled slab of muscles again.
And it’s not just the events of Infinity War, you’ll need to remember. There’s the whole affair Thor had with the Guardians of the Galaxy troupe. Chris Pratt is back with his crew, cracking jokes and apparently introducing Thor to Guns ‘N Roses. What else will you need to scratch your brain to recall? Oh, Thor is also pals with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and his brother had a whole spinoff show (Loki) that takes place in the Multiverse.
But like his fellow Avengers’ teammates, Thor’s days as an Avenger might be coming to a close. At the very end of the teaser, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) wields Thor’s hammer, the mjolnir, an epic feat. She looks amazing. You could practically hear fan applause at the moment of the reveal.
(Still shrouded in mystery: Christian Bale as the new villain, Gorr the God Butcher. What a name!)
The Avengers, Hemsworth’s second film playing Thor, is coming up on its 10th anniversary in just a few weeks. Hemsworth has been playing the character for over a decade now, starting with Thor and continuing onto Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok, along with the flurry of Avengers films.
Thor: Love and Thunder premieres in theaters on July 8.
