On April 18th, Marvel Entertainment released the trailer for their newest project, Thor: Love and Thunder releasing on July 8, 2022. With returning director Taika Waititi, this movie is set to star Chris Hemsworth as the titular hero, Thor, clashing against one of the strongest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) villains, Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale.

The theme of the trailer, Guns and Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, with lyrics referencing “eyes of the bluest skies” and childhood memories, sets the tone of the movie as a movie about recovering from loss. In previous movies, Thor and the Asgardians faced the most tragic loss.

First they lost their home-world of Asgar in Thor: Ragnarok, then they lost half of their total population in Avengers: Infinity War. Thor lost his brother Loki to Thanos’ conquest, and then he saw most of his friends dust away at the end of that movie.

This movie will pick up where Avengers: Endgame left off, with Thor mirroring Thanos’ gardening after retiring from his adventure. Thor hopes to find peace with himself, which in the comics leads to Lady Thor AKA Jane Foster, with returning actress Natalie Portman reprising her role

We then see how Thor loses the weight he gained in Avengers: Endgame. His appearance mimics Vincent D’Onofrio’s look as the mechanic in the 1987 movie, Adventures in Babysitting. Thor wears a trucker hat with what appears to be “ The Strongest Avenger” written in Sharpie over the previous labeled text.

This trailer also explains the set leaks that appeared online, with the New Asgard set piece being an actual theme park. This scene is meant to portray how Thor feels as though his people have become a joke to others, and that throughout all he’s lost, he only managed to keep the part others don’t seem to care about.

Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, does not appear anywhere in the trailer, leaving comic fans to assume that he’ll show up in later trailers with a major villain reveal, similar to Dr Strange and its reveal of Dormammu. Gorr’s biggest criticism of the gods in the Marvel universe is that they have no plans nor rules for the way they judge others.

What is revealed in the trailer is Mount Olympus, the home of Zeus, played by Russell Crowe. Olympus shows hundreds of gods and sub-deities, as well as Hercules, a major rival to Thor in the Marvel comics. Fans theorize that Olympus will be completely wrecked by Gorr in the opening act of the movie.

The last reveal of the trailer is Jane Foster as Thor, catching Mjolnir, with all the shards having been put back together from its destruction in Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi wants to emphasize that Thor is a title, and that many people can hold the name of Thor.

I am excited to see what Marvel and Director Taika Waititi bring next to the Thor franchise, especially after Thor: Ragnaraok’s major box-office success in 2017.