Patreon exclusive: Thor: Love and Thunder trailer shows Thor back to his Ragnarok best

There’s something beautifully elegant about the opening 20 seconds of the new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer. It’s not only done a decent job of setting Thor’s tone for the trailer as a whole, but on closer inspection, it has a lot of callbacks to things we’ve seen before in the MCU. We see him running and growing, reminding us of Captain America, and him planting his iconic Stormbreaker weapon in the ground is more than a subtle nod to Thanos at the start of Avengers Endgame. A confused Thor, pondering what to do next in life gives off serious T’Challa vibes from Black Panther before the rousing crescendo of music reminds you of Guardians of the Galaxy.

And it’s intentional because Thor is one of the remaining iconic original Avengers, and therefore reminding the audience of what has gone before draws them into what they have loved about the MCU for over a decade. Thor hones our focus and reminds us (aside from the Marvel TV shows) that Phase Four isn’t all about new heroes and their backstories. There is continuity to enjoy, and we are here to see where Thor went next after Iron Man brought a memorable end to Phase Three.

Thor: Love and Thunder | Ragnarok again?

It’s clear by the end of that opening 20 seconds, with Sweet Child of Mine blaring out, that this is very much Taika Waititi’s Thor again. The Thor we know from Ragnarok, and that’s a very good thing. The Thor films needed a jolt in the arm after Dark World, and made Thor a more relatable, humble, and personable character going into Infinity War. The almost overbearing Guns N’ Roses tune goes hand in hand with the carefree nature of Thor as he explores what life could hold for him next, where he seems to just be having fun. In his own words:

“I want to choose my own path. Live in the moment. My Super-Heroing days are over.”

We of course know this to be nonsense. It’s not a Thor film without Super-Heroing, but it’s clear some of the narrative, likely at the beginning of the film will be Thor finding purpose. What’s omitted, naturally, from this first trailer, is the threat. We know Christian Bale is playing Gorr the God-Eater, and it will be really interesting to not only see him but learn how he permeates Thor’s reality and turns his journey around. I’m sure there’s likely to be something that causes him to have drive and focus, and Gorr is likely to be it.

Comedy and serious tones expected

There are other good bits in the trailer too. The interaction between Thor and Peter Quill as they discuss purpose and finding that in those you love as he looks longingly at his Guardian’s Crew adds a heartwarming touch. A moment that is then comically broken as Thor leans into shot. But I’d urge caution at dismissing this movie as slapstick Thor. Sure that’s the vibe of this trailer, and it’s what many people remember from Ragnarok (“He’s a friend from work” anyone?), but that would be ignoring that Ragnarok still dealt with serious issues, particularly around Odin, Hela, Loki and Thor themselves, and I see Love and Thunder being no different. We just haven’t seen much of that yet outside of Thor’s pondering of his purpose.

And then, finally, we get the final scene, a mainstay of Marvel trailers. And again, in the same way the trailer began, it weaves in some MCU reminders, playing on our nostalgia. Perhaps the most iconic moment in Avengers: Endgame was Captain America wielding Mjolnir before his infamous “Avengers Assemble!” line. Now we see a similar thing happening, but this time the unsuspecting wielder of the hammer is Jane Foster as Thor. And again to keep us harking back, she dons a more traditional Thor dress, mirroring her outfit from the comics. It’s a little touch but it all adds up.

All in all, it was a classic Marvel trailer that has me super-hyped for July when the movie releases. I loved Thor Ragnarok, and Love and Thunder has all the promise to live up to that mark.