The first trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder reveals a whole other pantheon of ancient gods has secretly been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this whole time.
At around the 51-second mark in the Love and Thunder teaser trailer, viewers can catch a glimpse of Russell Crowe as Zeus, the king of the Olympians, a Marvel character based on the Greek mythological deity of the same name.
Up until recently, the MCU had only introduced gods and characters from Norse mythology. That all changed when Moon Knight introduced Khonshu and the rest of the Egyptian gods. Egyptian mythology has been a focal point in the series since it premiered on Disney+ in March.
The inclusion of Zeus in Love and Thunder, however, opens the door for Marvel to bring two other prominent Greek gods from the comics to the big screen: Hercules and Ares. Hercules has been a member of the superhero team on-and-off since the 1970s while Ares was originally a nemesis of the Avengers only to later become an antihero, joining Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers.
The synopsis for Thor: Love and Thunder reveals the film will find Thor seeking retirement, only to be interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks to eliminate the gods. Thor will need the help of King Valkyrie, Korg and the new Mighty Thor, Jane Foster, who now wields Mjolnir.
Marvel has created characters in the comics based on a number of different gods, including, but not limited to, Japanese, Inca, Inuit, Native American and Aztec deities. Thus far there has been no news suggesting these other gods will enter the MCU. According to details released by Marvel Studios, it appears Gorr the God Butcher may only target gods from the Norse and Greek pantheon in the upcoming film.
Thor: Love and Thunder was directed by Taika Waititi, returning to the franchise after helming 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. In addition to Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Thor, actors Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Jeff Goldblum, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel all return from previous MCU installments. Christian Bale will be making his MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher.
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to hit theaters on July 8.
Source: YouTube