'Thor' Comic-Con Trailer: Gods, Beards, and Natalie Portman

The first comic I ever purchased was The Mighty Thor issue #447, so watching the extended Comic-Con preview of next year’s Thor movie is a true religious experience. The interesting thing about Thor is that his stories tend to criss-cross several different genres: contemporary superhero action, a hefty helping of Lord of the Rings-ish epic fantasy, plus some laser-beam sci-fi just for the heck of it. (Some of the most interesting Thor stories are just the thunder god flying through space with his hammer, which when you think about it, is pretty surreal.) This first tease indicates that director Kenneth Branagh is gamely attempting to hit all those tonal beats. Check out the video and see what you think.

I’m totally digging the look of Asgard: director Kenneth Branagh seems to be back in his Henry V/Hamlet wheelhouse with those scenes, and there’s a grandiosity to the visuals that seems very unique in superhero cinema. I’m also pretty stoked about Chris Hemsworth’s Thor-beard: it looks suitably like Viking Royalty in the Asgard scenes, and suitably hobo-esque in the scenes on earth. We don’t get much of a sense of the plot, although I think I spotted Yggdrasil, the world tree, at one point. (Is it sad that I still know how to spell Yggdrasil?) And, of course, any appearance by Agent Coulson is always welcome.

What do you think of the trailer, PopWatchers? Thor’s probably the least well-known of the Marvel biggies; does it look like the movie is fun for newcomers and megafans alike? And look, Rene Russo!