Thor is not the strongest franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it certainly has a charm that keeps bringing viewers back, and now, our favorite Norse gods return to battle the end of the world in the epic first teaser trailer for Thor: Ragnarok.
Epic moments include Thor hanging in a fire pit in chains, fire blasting through Asgard, aliens capturing Thor and forced to fight a la Roman coliseum battles against battle-Hulk, Loki going all badass and, most incredibly of all, Thor’s all-powerful hammer Mjolnir getting crushed into nothing. The trailer definitely has more of a Guardians of the Galaxy feel, with the 80’s like title graphics, old school song background, and the grittiness that surrounds the whole film. This film looks action-packed and fast-paced but with the first film’s touches of humor here and there to help make it palatable and none of the drudgery of The Dark World.
No Natalie Portman this time around, but we do get some great A-Listers to top-off the cast list, including Cate Blanchett as Hela, an opposing leader with a serious grudge, Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster who rules the planet Thor ends up on, Tessa Thompson as Valkryie, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, and, surprisingly, Karl Urban as Skurge, though he will just another Asguardian warrior. The film is directed by Taika Waititi, best known for his stellar vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, and written by Eric Pearson, who has only worked on other, shorter MCU stuff for the TV shows, but clearly his fresh, new voice has given the franchise a much needed boost. Still, how it plays into this franchise, which is all over the place when it comes to tone, will remain to be seen.
Thor: Ragnarok will premiere in theaters on November 3, 2017.
