“Thor: Love and Thunder” is the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film released by Disney in partnership with Marvel Studios that is the long-awaited sequel to 2017's Thor Ragnarok.

Lightning sparks the theater as “Thor: Love and Thunder” is the next film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Director Taika Waititi who helmed the last entry, Thor Ragnarok will return for the long-awaited sequel after winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2020 for Jojo Rabbit, released the previous year in 2019.

As shown in the teaser trailer for the film on Monday, April 18th, 2022 and the official trailer released on Monday, May 23rd, 2022, the film sports a more comedic tone with featuring the beloved and retired god who has fallen from grace in a more optimistic light after the destruction of Asgard and the loss of his brother Loki. The official trailer begins with Thor’s friend Korg narrating Thor’s journey post “Avenger’s Endgame.” The story is about how Thor lost weight and reclaiming the title of “The God of Thunder,” he is shocked to find out in the middle of a battle that his old flame, Jane Foster, has become worthy to gain his powers. Together, and with the help of Valkyrie, Korg, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, they must defeat a new evil known as Gorr the God Butcher who thinks the selfish ways of the gods have corrupted the universe. At the end of the trailer, we finish in a comedic tone as Zeus flicks off Thor’s clothes and literally exposes him to the entire Greek God pantheon, causing many fainting spells due to his “mighty hammer,” to which Jane and Valkyrie look on nonchalantly.

Director Taika Waititi also said that the film would be a story that is “incredible, full of emotion, and love and thunder,” said during the 2019 Marvel Comic Con panel. This emotional angle would take the MCU in a new direction that most would consider random, but the MCU is no stranger to fitting random concepts in their world like the slow burn mystery of WandaVision, the mythical epic of the Eternals, and the mind bending tale of Moon Knight.

With Valkyrie being confirmed as a bisexual woman, actress Tessa Thompson said that she is looking for a queen at the Comic-Con 2019 MCU panel, “I think first of all as king, as a new king, she needs to find her queen. So that would be her first order of business.” This would also add diversity for many people on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, showing these people that their heroes look like them.

From a shiny new aesthetic to a more romantic approach with the story, this shows that the MCU still takes risks even this deep into Phase 4, creating films that would pull in people that are more interested in love stories and romantic comedies rather than big bombastic superhero films. How will this film fare? Find out when lightning strikes your local theater on July 8th, 2022.

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