New Thor: Love and Thunder trailer reveals first look at Christian Bale's terrifying villain

Marvel has unveiled the first official trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder – and it looks just as zany as we’ve come to expect from the Avenger’s solo movies.

While the previous teaser only gave us a glimpse at Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster wielding Mjolnir, this new clip sees her in action, as she helps Thor battle a bunch of gladiators. It introduces Russell Crowe’s Zeus and Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher, too. The latter of which we haven't properly seen until now.

It opens with Taika Waiti’s Korg telling a bunch of youngsters about the titular "space viking." He explains: "He was no ordinary man, he was god. After saving planet Earth for the 500th time, Thor set off on a new journey… he got in shape, he went from Dad Bod, to God Bod, and after all that, he reclaimed his title, as the one and only Thor."

"Ooh, spoke too soon," Korg adds, as a shot of Foster’s Mighty Thor pops up on the screen. Cue a whole bunch of awkwardness.

"The old ex-girlfriend," Thor mumbles under his breath to Korg in a later scene, before sharing a cringey moment with his former flame.

"What's it been, like three... four years?" asks Jane, prompting Thor to admit that he's been watching the calendar a little more than she has. "Eight years, seven months, and six days... Give or take," he says.

Feelings prove to be the least of Thor's worries when Gorr rocks up, though. Born on a planet with no name, the villain harbors a deep resentment for gods – and the lives of wealth and privilege they often get to lead – as he's been fighting to survive since he was small, and they never once answered his prayers. 

"The only ones who gods care about is themselves," Gorr growls in the promo. "So this is my vow... all gods will die." Uh oh.

Directed by Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder is also set to star Akosia Sabet (as Wakandan goddess Bast), Jaimie Alexander (Sif), and Tessa Thompson (as Valkyrie). Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), and Karen Gillan (Nebula), or as we know them best, the Guardians of the Galaxy, round out the supporting cast.

It is currently scheduled to release on July 8. If you don't have time to rewatch every film in Marvel Cinematic Universe ahead of time, then jog your memory as to what's been going down with our breakdown of the MCU timeline

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.