Before The Avengers melted my comic geek brain, Thor was my favorite of the Marvel Studios movies. A real shock given my complete lack of knowledge regarding the character, but that ignorance probably helped keep the poisonous fanboy enthusiasm in check which in turn allowed for a baggageless movie watching experience. Now the world is different. The Avengers changed my entire outlook regarding this cinematic worldbuilding. I've drunk the Kool-Aid and now I will greatly anticipate every Marvel release until the end of time -- Let's Go Rocket Raccoon!!!!!!!
The Thor sequel has something to do with Dark Elves (led my the latexed Christopher Eccleston) and the evil that existed before time blah, blah, blah. What interests me in the UK trailer is the great swathes of Asgardian battlefields and Loki's Hannibal Lector routine behind glass. I'm sure we're gonna get plenty of Earth, but the fish-outta-water comedy of the first film appears to be absent and the stakes look properly high for the Norse Gods. Kenneth Branagh's dutch angles are gone. Replaced by Alan Taylor's television point & shoot. That being said, Taylor has directed some of my favorite episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street (Autofocus, The Wedding) as well as The Sopranos, Lost, Mad Men, Bored to Death, and Game of Thrones. That last credit is obviously what got the man the job. So yeah, I'm excited for the fall.
--Brad
