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'Thor: Love and Thunder': Meet Jane Foster's Thor as first trailer sets up rock 'n roll sci-fi adventure
Thor: Love and Thunder arrives in theaters Friday, July 8.
The Thor film series is still worthy (very, very worthy) in the first galaxy-spanning teaser trailer for Love and Thunder, the fourth electrifying entry in the God of Thunder's MCU tenure.
Directed and co-written by the returning Taika Waititi — whose star has been on a meteoric rise since 2017's Ragnarok — the post-Avengers: Endgame film draws most of its inspiration from the Mighty Thor comics by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman, in which a cancer-stricken Jane Foster wields Mjolnir. To that end, Natalie Portman is reprising her role as Foster, who's been MIA in the MCU since The Dark World.
"She does have powers. It's not exactly the same as Thor. It's her own version of it," the actress said in 2020. In a separate interview that same year, she explained: "I think people usually say how great it is for the girls, but it's really important for the boys. For the boys to get to see women in those kinds of characters and in those kinds of personalities. It just expands opportunity for how we all see each other."
Chris Hemsworth is back as Thor, who decided to abdicate the Asgardian throne and go on cosmic adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Oh, and we finally know where the MCU stands on the god's weight: "Lewbowski Thor" is no more! He's shed those extra pounds and is back to his old shredded self. Despite returning to his 2011 aesthetic (long hair, cape, etc.), he's a changed deity, having given up the mantle of a superhero, leaving Stormbreaker behind, and opting for a more peaceful existence.
Watch the trailer (perfectly set to Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child 'O Mine") below:
As we know, Thor's latest nemesis is Gorr the God Butcher (played by erstwhile Batman, Christian Bale), an antagonist who, as the title suggests, likes killing gods. After occupying the role of Gotham's brooding Dark Knight, Bale has got the menacing aura on lock. The dude's about to spill some ichor, aka blood of the gods, and wrap up some dripping deity steaks in wax paper. He is a butcher, after all.
With all of that said, Gorr is surprisingly absent from the light-hearted trailer, which shows Thor palling around the current members of the GoTG: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper).
When the central villain embarks on his quest to wipe out the gods, however, our titular hero must put aside his desire for inner peace and enlist the help of Foster, King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and his rock buddy Korg (Waititi) to save the day. Judging by the footage, Valkyrie has grown rather bored of running New Asgard and is probably itching for another cosmic adventure.
Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif), Russell Crowe (Zeus), and Matt Damon round out the A-list cast. It's unclear who Damon is playing, but fans will recall that he previously appeared in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok as a dramatized version of Loki. Damon is either back as that hammy Asgardian theater actor, or he's whipping up a brand-new character.
One thing is for sure, though: Love and Thunder is certain to make "Ragnarok seem like a run-of-the-mill, really safe film,” according to Waititi. Production for the movie kicked off in Australia in January 2021, with a tribute to the country's native peoples. Filming wrapped several months later in early June. Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum are producers.
Co-written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Thor: Love and Thunder is currently scheduled to strike theaters on Friday, July 8.
