While several of the original Avengers have now exited the Marvel Cinematic Universe--including Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow--Thor continues to play a major part in the MCU. After three standalone films and four Avengers movies, Chris Hemsworth is set to return as the Asgardian God in Thor: Love and Thunder.

　　The first Thor movie was released way back in 2011, when the MCU was still finding its feet. Thor played a major part in 2012's hugely successful The Avengers, but many fans were disappointed by his next appearance, the muddled Thor: The Dark World. It was the arrival of acclaimed New Zealand director Taika Waititi for 2017's Thor Ragnarok that really delivered the potential of this outlandish character, as Waititi delivered a hilarious, unpredictable, and sometimes surreal intergalactic adventure.

　　Thor: Love and Thunder was officially announced in 2019 and it finally arrives this year. With an amazing cast and Waititi back in the director's chair, there's every possibility that it will be something truly special. So he's everything we know so far about Thor: Love and Thunder.

　　

What's the release date?

Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8.

　　

Who's the director?

The movie will be directed by Taika Waititi. As well as Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi's other credits include JoJo Rabbit, What We Do In The Shadows, and The Hunt For the Wilderpeople.

　　

Who's the writer?

Thor: Love and Thunder is written by Waititi and Jennifer Keating Robinson. Robinson's previous credits include directing the Netflix movie Someone Great and writing the MTV series Sweet/Vicious.

　　

Who's coming back?

The film will feature a variety of familiar faces from the previous Thor movies. Chris Hemsworth plays the God of Thunder once more, with Tessa Thompson reprising her Ragnarok role as Valkyrie. Natalie Portman will return to the series playing Jane Foster for the first time since Thor: The Dark World.

　　We can also expect a number of actors returning to smaller roles. Jaimie Alexander is the Asgardian warrior Sif, a role she played in the first two Thor movies, while Jeff Goldblum is back as the eccentric Grandmaster and Waititi himself will voice the hilarious Cronan gladiator Korg. In addition Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Luke Hemsworth will play the Asgardian actors from Ragnarok.

　　

It's the Guardians!

The Guardians of the Galaxy are also set to play a part in Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Pratt, Dave Batista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Pom Clement, and Sean Gunn will appear as Starlord, Drax, Nebula, Groot, Mantis, and Kraglin respectively. Thor and Pratt previously enjoyed some hilarious banter in Avengers: Endgame, so it'll be fun to see the pair continue their manly rivalry in this new movie. It's been rumored that the Guardians won't feature heavily, but we'll take what we can get.

　　

Who's new?

Only one new actor has been confirmed so far, but it's a big one. Former Batman star Christian Bale will make his return to superhero movies as the villainous Gorr the God Butcher, a powerful alien who seeks to destroy deities throughout the universe.

　　What's the story?

　　Most details about the movie's plot are currently underwraps, but we do know that it will take inspiration from the 2015 comic series The Mighty Thor, by Jason Aaron. In this story, Jane Foster gains Thor's powers while fighting cancer. In 2020, Portman told Yahoo, "I'm starting to train, to get muscles. If there can be all these female superheroes, the more of them they are, the better it is. It's based on the graphic novel of The Mighty Thor. She's going through cancer treatment and is a superhero on the side."

　　Waititi has also described the movie as a romance. "What I wanted to do from the beginning was to ask: 'What are people expecting the least from this franchise?' Oh, I know--a full-blown love story!" he told Wired. Of course, with Waititi directing and a villain called Gorr the God Butcher in there, we can expect plenty of comedy and action too.

　　

Is there any footage or images?

While no official Images or footage have been revealed yet, a few behind-the-scenes pictures have leaked from the set. These images were taken during reshoots in November and show Thor and Jane shopping for jewellery. Intriguingly they are wearing the hair and clothing from Thor: The Dark World, teasing a flashback sequence. Other on-set images suggest we will see more of New Asgard, the Earth-set community first revealed in Avengers Endgame, and an all-new look for Valkyrie.