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All the secrets and details of the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer, from Zeus to Jane Foster

Let there be lightning.

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Published on April 18, 2022 04:57PM EDT

Grab Mjolnir and cue up the classic rock: Thor is back, baby! It's been three years since we last saw Chris Hemsworth's hammer-wielding hero in Avengers: Endgame, and now, the Asgardian prince has returned in the first teaser trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, accompanied by an appropriately epic Guns N' Roses soundtrack.

Taika Waititi returns to direct the fourth entry in the Thor series, and if this neon-drenched first trailer is any indication, Love and Thunder promises to be as heartfelt — and frankly, as bonkers — as its predecessor, Thor: Ragnarok. There's a lot to unpack here, from the return of familiar faces to those epic new settings — as well as a few hidden references and blink-and-you'll-miss-it jokes.

Here, we break down some of the best reveals and details from the first Thor: Love and Thunder trailer before the film hits theaters on July 8.

The sun rises on a grateful universe

Thanos and Thor may not have seen eye to eye on just about anything, but when the Love and Thunder trailer begins, the God of Thunder appears to be taking a page from the Mad Titan's book. Our hero isn't so sold on the whole superhero thing anymore, and after saving the world for the zillionth time, he's put away his trusty axe, Stormbreaker, and turned to a life of peace. All he needs now is a scarecrow to hang his armor on, and Thanos would be proud.

Training time!

We love a training montage, don't we, folks? Here we see Thor bulking up again, apparently working to lose the weight he gained in Avengers: Endgame. The shot of him training in a mossy cavern next to a giant skeleton gives off major Luke-on-Dagobah vibes. All Thor needs now is a tiny Yoda to carry around in a backpack.

Also, make sure to peep the hat he's wearing: It's hard to make out, but it seems to read "Strongest Avenger," a fun callback to the Quinjet password scene from Ragnarok. Was this a joke gift from a fellow Avenger (Bruce, maybe?), or did Thor make it himself? Either way, it's excellent.

Asgardians of the Galaxy

Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy first crossed paths in Infinity War, and here, we see them working together again. The trailer features Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, Karen Gillan's Nebula, Pom Klementieff's Mantis, Vin Diesel's Groot, Sean Gunn's Kraglin, Bradley Cooper's Rocket, and Dave Bautista's Drax. (There's also that familiar rivalry between Thor and Star-Lord, with the latter rolling his eyes at his Asgardian frenemy.)

One Guardian notably missing from the trailer is Zoe Saldaña's Gamora, whom Thanos killed in Infinity War. An alternate timeline version of Gamora appears in Endgame, but she's since disappeared, and the Guardians have been searching for her ever since. Saldaña has been confirmed to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but it remains to be seen whether she'll also pop up in Love and Thunder.

Hey man, I'm Korg

The trailer also reintroduces another familiar face: Waititi himself returns to voice the soft-spoken rock monster Korg. Both Korg and Thor are rocking some dope new '80s-inspired outfits, too: Check out the belt on Korg and the T-shirt on Thor, which appears to depict Yggdrasil, a sacred tree from Norse mythology.

Fans on Twitter also pointed out that the space next to Thor is conspicuously empty. Marvel has a long history of editing its trailers to hide spoilers; think of how Thor's missing eye was concealed in the first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok. Might there be another hidden character who's been edited out here?

Got your goat

This is just an extremely cool shot of a bunch of flying goats pulling a Viking ship. Incredible. No notes. More goats, please.

Shiver me timbers

Waititi is no stranger to the pirate genre, having recently starred in and directed HBO Max's delightful pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death. Here, he's bringing those same swashbuckling vibes to Thor, as we see Thor setting sail for adventure on the high seas. He also kisses an unidentified lady pirate with blue hair. Fingers crossed that this is setting up a crossover between Love and Thunder and Our Flag Means Death. Waititi's Blackbeard would totally thrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

New threads

It wouldn't be a Marvel movie without a cool new super-suit, and here, we see Thor rocking a colorful new version of his iconic outfit. If Tony Stark were still here, you know he'd have a Shakespearean quip to make about that red cape.

Bolt of lightning

The kingdom of Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarok, but the trailer teases another unidentified golden realm. The view is purposefully unclear, but we see a brief glimpse of a figure in gold, wielding a lightning bolt. That appears to be Russell Crowe, who's confirmed to be playing the Greek god Zeus. Welcome to the Marvel pantheon, Zeus!

Another person missing from the trailer is Christian Bale, who is playing the villain, Gorr the God Butcher. We'll have to wait a little longer to see him in action.

Welcome to New Asgard

The Asgardian refugees have founded a new kingdom on Earth, and this tiny town appears to be thriving. There also appears to be a booming tourist economy: Check out the tour bus on the left and the bustling cruise ships in the distance. After all, why would you book a vacation to Disneyland, when you can head to New Asgard and zoom around in flying boats?

Introducing King Valkyrie

Thor has long since walked away from the Asgardian throne, and in his place, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) has taken up rule. According to Marvel, her official new title is King Valkyrie, and she appears to be meeting with humans on some sort of governing council.

Also, while everyone on Twitter is (rightfully!) losing their minds over how good Tessa Thompson looks in a suit, let us not overlook the other fun thing in this shot. Just on the edge of the frame, we see Korg's alien BFF Miek, looking very dapper in a suit and tie. Looks like Miek has gone from Sakaar gladiator to New Asgard government official. Nice job on the promotion, Miek!

Nothing a hot glue gun can't fix

When it comes to weapons, Thor's history is a little complicated. Hela shattered Thor's trusty hammer Mjolnir in Ragnarok, but Thor later forged a new weapon, the axe Stormbreaker, in Avengers: Infinity War. Later, through time travel, he also managed to snag an earlier, unbroken version of Mjolnir, which Captain America wielded in Endgame. (Again, we said it was complicated.)

Here, however, we see the original broken version of Mjolnir, which appears to be reassembled. Which brings us to our final point…

Re-introducing Jane Foster

Natalie Portman's back! The Oscar-winning actress starred in the first two Thor movies as brilliant scientist/love interest Jane Foster, but she sat out Thor: Ragnarok. Now, she's returned, and this time she's wielding the hammer herself as a new version of Thor. Waititi has previously said that Love and Thunder takes inspiration from the Thor comics by writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman, in which Jane is revealed to be the new worthy wielder of Mjolnir.

As we learned in Ragnarok, however, Jane and Thor didn't exactly part on the best of terms, as she broke up with him. We'll have to wait and see how their reunion goes and whether sparks will fly again — or maybe lightning.

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