Natalie Portman is Mighty Thor in First Thor: Love and Thunder Teaser

The wait is finally over. Devotees of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been waiting a long time—a really long time—for any kind of footage from Taika Waititi’s Ragnarok follow-up Thor: Love and Thunder, and were rewarded this morning with the film’s first teaser trailer. And not only that, but we finally get to see Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster returned to the fold, looking jacked and wielding a reforged Mjolnir to boot.

Thor: Love and Thunder is the next step in the Thor saga, but one that sees Chris Hemsworth’s version of the character having reached a crossroads or plateau. He’s hung up his own hammer/axe and declares his days as a superhero ended, dedicating himself to a live of peace. It even seems that he’s finished his time tooling around with the Guardians of the Galaxy, who make many appearances in the teaser. Instead, he looks to be on something of a journey of self-discovery, which will presumably be shattered by the emergence of Christian Bale’s villain Gorr the God Butcher, who does not appear here … though we get a look at some of his handiwork.

And because there will presumably be gods that need butchering, we see some more fantastical lands in the teaser below, including what looks almost like the Greek god pantheon, with a character who looks suspiciously like Zeus. The air is then sucked out of the room, however, by the arrival of Portman as Mighty Thor, having somehow inherited the powers of Thor (and his original hammer) as a way of overcoming her terminal cancer. It all feels a bit disjointed at the moment, but one has to trust in Taika Waititi’s sense of both humor and narrative.

Thor: Love and Thunder is due to arrive on July 8, 2022. Check out the teaser below.