First “Thor: Love and Thunder” Teaser Reveals the God of Thunder’s Groovy New Path

“These hands were once used for battle,” Thor (Chris Hemsworth, of course) says at the top of the first Thor: Love and Thunder teaser, the long-awaited peek at writer/director Taika Waititi’s sequel to his smashing 2018 Thor: Ragnarok. “Now, they’re but humble tools for peace.”

This absurd opening verbal riff, in keeping with Waititi’s brilliant transformation of the Thor franchise from a dark sci-fi saga into a candy-colored, often hilarious, epic adventure, gives us a Thor looking more like a weekender at a yoga retreat than the mighty God of Thunder. Speaking about riffs, the teaser also opens with Slash’s guitar riff from Guns N Roses’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” We see Thor getting back in shape after, ah, letting himself go and having to fight heavy in Avengers: Endgame.  We also see Thor turn his back on a fight, to the chagrin of Star-lord (Chris Pratt) and the Guardians of the Galaxy, as he goes off to choose his own path. “My superhero’ing days are over,” Thor tells us.

“If you ever feel lost, just look into the eyes of the people you love,” Star-lord tells Thor. Only the Guardian of the Galaxy hero is talking about his friends, not Thor, who keeps making dreamy eye contact nonetheless. The first teaser reveals that Waititi is going to give us a story in which Thor tries to turn away from all the superhero exploits and become a new kind of God, a quest that’ll no doubt be filled with hilarity and insanity. Waititi has repeatedly said that Thor: Love and Thunder is the craziest movie he’s ever made. He’s not only playing with Thor and Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, he’s not only got some of the Guardians of the Galaxy to deploy into his mayhem, but he’s got heavyweight performers like Christian Bale, playing Gorr the God Butcher, and Russell Crowe, playing Zeus.

Yet the teaser ends with the most intriguing addition of them all—lo, there’s Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman), also known as Jane Foster, holding her own Mjölnir and looking as ready to rumble as Thor ever was.

The teaser is delightful. Thor: Love and Thunder arrives on July 8, and it couldn’t come quick enough.

Check out the teaser below.

For more on Thor: Love and Thunder, check out these stories:

Expect Insanity in “Thor: Love and Thunder” Says MCU Artist Andy Park

Taika Waititi Talks “Thor: Love and Thunder” & His “Star Wars” Movie

“Thor: Love and Thunder” Wraps Filming as Taika Waititi Promises It’s Craziest Film He’s Ever Done

Featured image: THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Courtesy Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios