Small Details You Missed In The First Thor: Love And Thunder Trailer
The wait is over, wannabe Asgardians, because the first teaser trailer for "Thor: Love and Thunder" has arrived.
The drop came as a bit of a shock, especially as the premiere of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" grows ever closer. Some suspected the first taste of "Love and Thunder" would come in the post-credits of "Doctor Strange 2," but luckily, we didn't have to wait those extra weeks.
The first tease of the fourth solo "Thor" flick was just that — running just one minute and 29 seconds. A full-length trailer is definitely on its way, but Marvel Studios gave us enough to satisfy our thirst for now. Naturally, the teaser is just what you'd expect from director Taika Waititi, who seems to have carried over many aspects introduced in "Thor: Ragnarok" — there's comedy, there's drama, there are cameos, and there's a jaw-dropping money shot we were all shocked to see.
Let's break down all the small details from the first "Thor: Love and Thunder" trailer and see what they mean for the bigger story.
Young Thor is wearing the classic Kirby costume
At the very start of the teaser, we're greeted with a short sequence showing Thor (Chris Hemsworth) at various stages of his life: starting as a young boy running through the trees, then morphing into a teenaged Thor, then finally into the adult Thor we've come to know and love throughout his years in the MCU. Interestingly, Thor's costume changes dramatically throughout these different stages of his life, and it would appear that the teenaged version of Thor is actually wearing his original costume from the comic books.
Specifically, he appears to be wearing the outfit that comic book artist Jack Kirby created for the character when he debuted in "Journey into Mystery" #83 in 1962. This iconic look saw the God of Thunder sporting a red cape, a sleeveless blue vest, black and yellow striped boots, and a gleaming metallic helm with wings on either side. This is the exact costume we see teenaged Thor wearing at the beginning of the teaser for "Thor: Love and Thunder," though we only get a brief glimpse of the outfit before it switches to Thor's original MCU suit. This continues the endearing MCU Phase Four tradition of finding ways to get heroes into perfect replications of their original Silver Age comic book costumes, as seen in the garb worn by Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in "WandaVision" and Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant) in "Loki."
In any case, one has to hope that we'll get to see more of the iconic Jack Kirby costume in the film –- perhaps in a flashback to Thor's youth.
Thor is still calling himself the Strongest Avenger
As Thor is working out with some pretty heft chains to shred his Blip 15 (50?), he's sporting an outfit with a rather humorous nod to "Thor: Ragnarok."
While the trailer shows him wearing a sleeveless tee (which highlights his profound beer belly) and some dark grey sweatpants, what really stands out about this outfit is the fabulous trucker hat. Fit with a red brim and mesh backing, the white front of the hat has the words "Strongest Avenger" plastered across it.
MCU fans will remember this moniker from the Quinjet scene from "Thor: Ragnarok," when Thor tries to activate the jet by placing his hand on the scanner and submitting his name for voice recognition. Saying his name doesn't do the trick, nor does "Thor, Son of Odin" or "God of Thunder," so Thor says " Strongest Avenger" — with a smirk on his face — thinking it will do the trick, but it doesn't. Soon after, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) hops on board and signs in as the Strongest Avenger, and the nickname is accepted as belonging to Hulk. It's definitely a blow to Thor's ego being informed that Hulk is the biggest and baddest, and it looks like by the time "Love and Thunder" comes around, he still hasn't gotten over this perceived slight.
RIP, Falligar: the rampage of Gorr the God Butcher has already begun
Much like "Thor: Ragnarok," this brand-new trailer for "Thor: Love and Thunder" does not shy away from fantastical locations and interesting characters. In one scene, Thor and Korg (Taika Watiti) are shown in a snowy, frigid landscape as they gaze upon the massive corpse of a creature that looks to have been absolutely fearsome in life.
For fans of the comic books, the appearance of this behemoth should come as no surprise — though the way that Waititi has so lovingly recreated the spitting image of this comic book panel from "Thor: God of Thunder" #3 is an unexpected treat. That's because this is no random creature, but rather, Falligar, the Patron god of the Galactic Frontier. Contrary to his menacing appearance, Falligar — pre-death — was one of Thor's friends, so the sight of his dead body is no relief. In fact, the slaughter of Falligar is a clear sign that the film's big bad, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) is already at work slaughtering deities across the universe.
In the film, as in the comics, Falligar's death will help establish the deadly and powerful nature of Thor's upcoming villain — and spell potential doom for the movie's other gods, Thor included. Now, speaking of gods ...
The Greek pantheon has arrived
When you've got a villain like Gorr the God Butcher — who is only very subtly teased here, but never shown or referenced outright — it stands to reason that "Love and Thunder" will have to a high number of deities popping up, if only to ensure that Gorr can prove the weight of his rather ominous title. One god that might be at particularly high risk is Zeus, the revered ancient Greek ruler of Olympus. While this teaser is content to fully display Olympus itself, and demonstrate Zeus' presence, what's cleverly hidden from our mortal peepers is the man playing him.
Revealed almost a year ago this week, Russell Crowe was confirmed as playing the lightning bolt-wielding head of the Greek gods, with no clarification as to just how much he'd be appearing in the film. Judging by the teaser, though, it could be a prominent role, as Thor looks to be paying a visit to Olympus, perhaps to speak with Zeus himself regarding the threat of Gorr. While we don't see his face, we can see Crowe's take on the character basking in praise of his subjects. Will Zeus share similarly stoic characteristics to the dearly-departed Odin (Anthony Hopkins), or is this father of the Greek gods going to be a more haughty, arrogant figure that Party Thor from "What if...?" might hang out with? Odds are it will be the latter, but we'll have to wait and see.
It's worth noting that while Zeus is front and center here, his demigod son Hercules is a major Marvel superhero in the comics, and even an Avenger. Whether Hercules appears in this film or not, he's almost certainly on the way.
The tree may have deeper mythological significance
One thing this trailer makes very clear is that "Thor: Love and Thunder" is going to be about Thor getting back in touch with his roots (pun intended) to learn more about himself. We see him briefly as a child. He visits New Asgard. He reunites with old friends. After all the pain he's suffered in recent films, he is now very much on a fruitful journey of self-discovery and enlightenment ... one that is illustrated in the scene where he meditates under a tree.
In many mythologies and religions, trees are closely associated with themes of knowledge and self-discovery. Jewish mysticism has the Tree of Life, or the Sefirot. The Book of Genesis has its Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Buddha attains enlightenment by meditating (much like Thor) under the Bodhi Tree for seven weeks. And, of course, Norse mythology has its very own tree — Yggdrasil. In the original myths, Odin is granted knowledge of other realms and runes by hanging himself from one of Yggdrasil's branches for nine days and nights (via Norse-Mythology.org).
We also see Thor planting his branch-handled axe, Stormbreaker, in the ground, much like one would a sapling. We then see Stormbreaker firing a Bifrost-beam on Thor's Viking space-boat, possibly enabling the ship to move between worlds and realms. Much like Yggdrasil with Odin, it seems that Thor's tree is meant to grant him valuable knowledge and allow him to "branch out" to new destinations. Maybe even to realms belonging to other gods? We'll see.
New Asgard appears to be a tourist attraction
At the end of "Avengers: Endgame," Thor leaves New Asgard with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and he names Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) the king of New Asgard in his place.
New Asgard is the new home of the Asgardians, following the destruction of their original home in "Thor: Ragnarok" and Thanos' desecration of many survivors in "Avengers: Infinity War." Despite all this loss, the Asgardians have persevered, and when audiences last saw New Asgard, it appeared to be a small village. Now, our first glimpse of New Asgard in this teaser trailer suggests that the town has perhaps started to thrive under Valkyrie's rule: cruise ships appear off the coast of the city, and even a flying Asgardian ship sails over people's heads. A white van marked "New Asgard Tours" further suggests that the Asgardians' new home might have found a thriving tourism industry in the time since Thanos' final defeat, which makes sense — they need some form of income. Valkyrie, though — seen here wearing a formal suit — does not necessarily look thrilled in her position as New Asgard's ruler.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" appears to be a galaxy-spanning adventure, so it's unclear exactly how much time audiences might spend in New Asgard, but it'll certainly be fun to see how the village has progressed in the time since "Endgame."
Thor is digging that 80s vibe
With a psychedelic disco vibe being rife in "Thor: Ragnarok," it was clear that Waititi was tapping into the 70s era for the beloved threequel — and succeeding. For "Love and Thunder," the hammer-wielding hero is shaking off his former "Bro Thor" physique and getting back to the jacked image we're more familiar with — and he's doing so in a 1980s fashion. Because even besides "Sweet Child of Mine" rendition running through — and absolutely tearing up — the trailer, or the 80s color palette running throughout, there's also our first glimpse of Thor's red leather jacket (perhaps a personal Ravager redesign?) and, most significantly, what might well be his first ever 1980s-style training montage.
The backbone of 1980s cinema was seeing heroes finally get their act together and have a heavy workout to some incredible power ballad. Chances are the thunder god formerly referred to as "Point Break" by Iron Man might be having one too, in equally epic fashion. With Thor brandishing a trucker cap while waving oversized chains, it screams of 80s action nostalgia, particularly the 1987 Sylvester Stallone classic, "Over the Top." We can but pray to the movie gods that Thor does a full nod to the arm-wrestling, truck-driving masterpiece and turns his cap backward before a fight.
Mighty Thor (Jane Foster) revealed ... and she somehow fixed Mjolnir?!
Every Marvel movie trailer needs a money shot, and we finally get it with the debut of Natalie Portman's Mighty Thor. Almost echoing the now-iconic image of Steve Rogers proving himself worthy, here we see Jane Foster wielding a mysteriously reforged Mjölnir, much to OG Thor's surprise. Eagle-eyed fans will note that the cracks running through the great hammer signify that, contrary to some multiverse theorizing in the past year, this will be the same Mjölnir that Hela so unceremoniously destroyed in "Ragnarok." As for how Jane (or someone else) fixed it — that remains unknown.
Clearly, Jason Aaron's "Thor" run is the primary influence on "Love and Thunder." The question is, just how much of Mighty Thor's comic book origin story will make its way into "Love and Thunder" when it arrives? Because if Marvel Studios adapts it faithfully, this movie might be a huge tearjerker. In the comics, Thor's old flame Jane Foster is diagnosed with cancer before being deemed worthy of wielding Mjölnir. The incredible power keeps her illness at bay, but it also means that when she reverts to being regular Jane Foster, the illness speeds up.
Between Jane's (likely) cancer diagnosis and Gorr, "Love and Thunder" will likely be a surprisingly emotional affair, somewhere between all the laughs and cheers.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" will swing into theaters on July 8.