Wait. Stop. Have you watched the trailer? No. Scroll up, click “Play”.
I’ll wait.
Because the second you realise the trailer starts with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) doing a *record scratch* *freeze frame* “Now you must be wondering how I got here” trope, you know Thor: Ragnarok is going to be all kinds of different.
A distant memory is the epic opera of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. Forgotten in the throes of sequel-itis is Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World. Director Taika Waititi’s third movie in the Thor franchise is free from all that expectation, and it couldn’t be happier.
With the ridiculously appropriate Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” both as the trailer’s electrifying theme and clear inspiration, the trailer screams its arrival and marks out its territory.
From Hela (Cate Blanchett) breaking Mjolnir with a single hand, to Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) owning every scene she’s in, to the Grandmaster (deliciously played by Jeff Goldblum) challenging for scene-chewing superiority, this trailer doesn’t shy away from showing its whole hand. You get a clear view of Heimdall (Idris Elba) finally getting some action, and Skurge (Karl Urban) owning his role. Oh, and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) too, if you’re into that guy.
And yes, Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) shows up in a get-up that is the stuff of Planet Hulk creator Greg Pak’s dreams.
And the fonts! Oh the fonts! Harking back to a retro-futuristic era that the Tron reboot only hoped to evoke.
Forget Guardians of the Galaxy. This is the sci-fi space opera that the MCU has been waiting for.
