Among the superhero films that will come out in 2017, Thor: Ragnarok is the least I’m looking forward to. I mean, c’mon! It’s going against Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Justice League and Wonder Woman! However, the film’s first teaser trailer came out a few days ago and I’d like to share my thoughts about it – especially how it affected my interest in the movie.

I’m only going to talk about what was revealed in the teaser but there are those who prefer going into a film completely blind – if you’re one of those people, then minor SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Good

• Just from the opening (the music, Thor hanging in chains over what looks like Muspelheim), you know that this entry is going to be very different from the previous films that came before it. And at this point I can’t disagree with Marvel shaking things up for the Thor franchise – while still positively received, both Thor films have relatively lower critical ratings compared to the rest of the MCU movies. Whatever they were following for the previous films wasn’t working as well as what worked for the other MCU sub-franchises, so I think taking a different approach is a smart move.

• Muspelheim! Are we going to see Surtur and his fire demons in Thor: Ragnarok? Hopefully, we’ll see more of Surtur than we did of Dormammu in Doctor Strange.

• The shot of Hela first catching Mjolnir and then destroying it could be considered spoilerish by some but I think its important to reveal this plot point very early on. It looks like this will happen early in the film’s first act anyway (unlike a certain Doomsday reveal) and it tells audiences one of Thor’s biggest challenges in this third installment. Thor on an adventure without his mystical hammer? Doesn’t that seem interesting? And speaking of Hela destroying Mjolnir… To borrow wrestling terminology, Marvel just put Thor in a squash match to put Hela over. This moment cements Hela as a legitimate threat to someone as powerful as Thor or even Odin.

• More on Hela: this villain has so much potential, especially with an actress like Cate Blanchett in the role. I hope the script for Hela is good – Marvel has gotten flak for having lackluster, underdeveloped antagonists, so I’d like to see them introduce another villain on Loki’s level in terms of character. Also, we’re only just a few years removed from Iron Man 3 which should have had a female antagonist. Just look back on the rest of the MCU films and you’ll see that we’ve yet to have a woman in the role of the main villain. It’s nice to see Marvel changing things up here as well.

• Loki, despite being in three MCU films already, still offers a lot of potential and it looks like he’ll have another big role here. It looks like Loki will be a guest of Jeff Goldblum’s Gamesmaster, which is quite fitting of the character. And is Loki going to buddy up with Thor and Hulk in this adventure? If you can recall, Hulk gave Loki quite the beatdown in the Avengers. I can’t wait to see the dynamics between the two characters once they set off on this adventure.

The Bad

• Thor: Ragnarok seems like quite a departure from the comic book versions of the Ragnarok and Planet Hulk storylines. I fear that this may be a turn off for comic book purists, hardcore Thor fans and especially hardcore Hulk fans. I mean, Planet Hulk could have been a movie in itself but it’s getting shoehorned into a Thor film. Personally, I don’t mind this at all as I understand the reasons behind it but this does bear mentioning.

• I loved the relationships between Thor and his Asgardian friends Sif and the Warriors Three, but it looks like their screen time will be limited – again. I would have wanted them to have the same level of presence that Falcon and Bucky had in the Captain America films, but with characters like the Valkyrie and Hulk joining the cast, I doubt that they’ll have more than cameo appearances at this point.

•  I’m not against Tessa Thompson or her character in the film, but I’m sad about Natalie Portman not being here. I guess it’s better to leave Jane Foster out of this if she really doesn’t fit. I mean, she did kind of stuck out like a sore thumb in The Dark World, with her involvement feeling very plot device-y.

• Will Thor: Ragnarok be a good fit for the Thor trilogy of films? The Captain America films flowed so well together, they make for great marathon viewings. But Thor: Ragnarok feels like it’s the “Army of Darkness” in the Evil Dead trilogy – same character, but very different film. It’s too early to say for sure; I hope that this isn’t the case.

THE VERDICT

Aside from Mjolnir getting destroyed, this teaser trailer didn’t really reveal anything that I didn’t already know. But the way the teaser was structured, what it showed, and even the song that its producers chose really got me interested in Thor: Ragnarok. While I can’t say that this is now the superhero film that I’m really looking forward to catching in theaters, this film is definitely no longer in last place. Can’t wait to see the full trailer!

Have you seen the Thor: Ragnarok teaser trailer? What did you think about it? Let us know by leaving a comment or two below!