Thor: Love and Thunder Trailer Breakdown and Easter Eggs

Look Me In My Eyes

So one of the very first scenes in the teaser trailer puts the focus on Chris Hemsworth's eyes, which are as blue as the ocean. Normally this would be something to compliment him on, except Thor is supposed to have two different eye colors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor lost his right eye during a battle with his evil sister Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Rocket Raccoon gave him a false eye to use instead of an eyepatch in Avengers: Infinity War and Thor carried it over to Avengers: Endgame. The new eye was brown, which made it stand out more next to the blue. However, Thor: Love and Thunder takes us back to the same eye color again.

It's possible this can be explained away as Thor choosing to have his fake eye match his real one. Some fans have started to speculate this is a continuity error, though you have to assume director Taika Waititi is aware of something this major. Time will tell if this is ever explained in the actual film.

The Strongest There Is

The five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame introduced an out-of-shape Thor who had packed on the pounds. No longer a chiseled, muscular God of Thunder, Thor was reduced to a beer belly and playing Fortnite on New Asgard. With Thanos defeated and Thor now traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy, our hero has decided it's time to get back into superhero fighting shape. That includes a workout montage using the oversized chains to lock down a deceased giant.

Thor isn't as heavy as we previously saw him in Avengers: Endgame, and still has his massive beard. On top of his head is a hat that appears to say "Strongest Avenger," referencing a long-running feud between Thor and Hulk as to the member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes who can claim that title. However, on closer inspection, the hat has actually been tampered with. There looks to be extra writing on it, with Thor adding "Strongest" to whatever the original word was. Plus, "Avengers" is plural instead of the singular "Avenger."

Ravager Thor

After getting in shape, Thor's new choice of clothing comes straight from the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thor decides to go on a journey of spiritual awakening, ditching his Asgardian battle armor for a sleeveless cut-off jacket, t-shirt, and jeans. The wardrobe comes straight out of the closet of the Ravagers, the cosmic outlaw group originally run by Yondu in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

The new costume is also reminiscent of the Marvel hero Thunderstrike. Eric Masterson replaced Thor in the Marvel Universe and donned a similar look during his run. Thor's goatee and long ponytail are also callbacks to his replacement.

Flying Goats

Since Thor is traveling around the cosmos, he needs a chariot to take him everywhere. This is why he's enlisted the help of Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr, his flying goats. Fans of the comics are well aware of the duo, and they even have a history in Norse mythology. We get to see them charting a course away from New Asgard, and it even looks like Tessa Thompson's King Valkyrie is along for the ride.

Thor screenwriter Zack Stentz revealed they planned to use the goats in the first film but were shot down by Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige. Apparently, they were too outrageous for Phase 1 of the MCU. Nowadays, Feige and Marvel have loosened up and fully embrace all that comes with their eclectic superheroes, including goats that can fly.

A big way I know Marvel has loosened up creatively since Phase I is that we proposed Thor riding to battle in his goat chariot pulled by Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr back in 2009 and Feige & company looked at us like we were nuts. Now there they are in the L&T trailer!

— Zack Stentz (@MuseZack) April 18, 2022

Mount Olympus

Thor's journey takes him to Olympus, home of the Greek gods. It's a truly opening epic shot, as Olympus appears as a bustling city in the sky. So far fans have only gotten to see a handful of the Nine Realms, and they are only associated with Asgardian mythology. But when a movie has a villain with "God Butcher" in his name, like Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher, it stands to reason some gods will be introduced just to be slaughtered.

So as majestic as Olympus looks now, we'd advise not to get too latched on to the location and the various new gods we meet, such as Russell Crowe's Zeus.

Russell Crowe as Zeus

Inside the halls of Mount Olympus stands a gentleman brandishing a golden lightning bolt. This can only be their leader Zeus, who is being played by Russell Crowe. "Now, I'm gonna get on my bicycle, I'm gonna ride up to Disney-Fox studios... and round about 9:15, I shall be Zeus in Thor 4," Crowe revealed on an Australian radio show last year. "It's my last day of Zeus-ing about."

Shot Straight From the Comics

Thor: Love and Thunder is largely based on Jason Aaron's time writing Thor's comic book adventures, beginning by teaming with artist Esad Ribić on Thor: God of Thunder in 2012. In Thor: God of Thunder #3, Thor follows a trail of god corpses left behind by Gorr the God-Butcher (played by Christina Bale in Thor: Love and Thunder). At one point, he gazes upon the massive corpse of Falligar the Behemoth, as rendered by Ribić and colorist Ive Svorcina.

The shot is recreated in exacting detail in the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer, almost to the point that it appears that they inserted the panel into the film and then recolored it to match Love and Thunder's color grading.

King Valkyrie

Tessa Thompson is back as Valkyrie, and she even has a new title. Hinted at during the closing moments of Avengers: Endgame, Valkyrie will, in fact, be deemed ruler of New Asgard. The trailer shows her sitting during some sort of bureaucratic meeting, looking completely bored out of her mind. She'd rather be off fighting than sitting and listening to simple matters of law-making and petty squabbles.

Revealed in a recent leak of the Thor: Love and Thunder Marvel Legends figures, Thompson's character will now be going by King Valkyrie moving forward. Not only that, but the king is getting an all-new look with the throne. Taking inspiration from Thor's traditional Asgardian look, King Valkyrie's suit is made up a black and white design with some silver metallic pieces throughout.

Asgardians of the Galaxy

"Asgardians of the Galaxy" is the nickname Thor came up with for the Guardians in the closing moments of Avengers: Endgame. The Guardians are along for the ride in Thor: Love and Thunder, though how large a role they play remains to be seen. Their lineup consists of Star-Lord, Drax, Nebula, Mantis, Rocket, and a still teenaged Groot. Though he barely appears on screen, Sean Gunn's Kraglin also makes an appearance.

When we spoke with Gunn after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theaters, the actor told us he was still unsure if the character would formally join the ranks of the group.

"I think that that's to be determined. You know, I think that Kraglin's story isn't finished yet. I think I'm comfortable to say that," Gunn told ComicBook.com at the time. "I wouldn't go necessarily so far as to say he's a Guardian, but I know that he's on the Guardian's ship when the movie ends, so he's there with them. We know that all of the rest of the people on Kraglin's ship are dead, he's the only survivor from that whole crew of Ravagers that he starts with on the second movie."

He added, "So I think, we'll see if Kraglin stays loyal or if he stays with the Guardians in some capacity. I'm really not sure about that yet. I have some ideas because I've heard some whispers about what goes on in the third movie, but again, I don't know for sure."

The Mighty Thor

Last, but certainly not least is Natalie Portman's dramatic entrance as The Mighty Thor. This is Portman's return to the franchise after sitting out Thor: Ragnarok. In the comics, Jane -- Thor's girlfriend from the first two movies -- developed an aggressive form of cancer, and Thor allowed her to wield Mjolnir, with his "thunder god" powers keeping her alive.

She also returns with a reforged Mjolnir, which fans have gotten an early look at with merchandise leaks of toys, banners, and t-shirts.