Thor has been a central part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe pretty much since the beginning, and now he’s back for round four of independent appearances in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Early this week, Marvel released the first teaser trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder and so far it looks unique to any other project they have undertaken so far. It follows the story of Thor after he takes off with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers Endgame. It seems to be a combination of a Ragnarok style Thor movie, mixed with Guardians of the Galaxy flair. I think fans can expect to explore a lot more of the wider Marvel Universe, and get a better look at how the universe has changed since the defeat of Thanos, especially given the quick glimpse of Valkyrie leading New Asgard here on Earth.
As of right now, not much has been revealed about the plot of the movie. All that the trailer really reveals is that we are following Thor down a new path, one without picking fights or superheroing. Which to his credit, is remarkable character development from the bull headed youth who tried to fight his way through Jotunheim, single handedly starting a war, in his first movie. I think character growth is going to be a big theme in this movie. Thor is looking for a new path in life, and the Guardians are looking for theirs. It is going to be an exploration of how events change people, and how to start on new adventures, even if everything has changed. Along with some continuing character growth, I think we can expect to see a lot of new and exciting things; the trailer hinting at another lightning wielder who looks almost like Zeus, and a female Thor wielding the once broken Mjolnir.
Another exciting detail; Lady Thor is being played by Natalie Portman, who played Jane Foster in earlier movies. Jane Foster is a scientist on Earth, and Thor’s old love interest. She has not been heard from since Thor: Dark World, so to see her again, and as worthy of Mjolnir, is certainly exciting. As for the other lightning wielders, could these be other Thor variants? If so, how does this movie play into the multiverse, if at all? Or is there something new going down? What do the Guardians of the Galaxy have to do with it?
I think we can expect great things from Thor: Love and Thunder, and the wait is not long. Thor: Love and Thunder premieres July 8th.

MAYA OEVERMAN
I am a Senior at City and I normally write the weekly book reviews! If I'm not reading, you can usually find me at the barn riding and taking care of the horses.