With Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel hopes to find new, fresh stories away from Earth

Thor: Ragnarok Teaser Trailer [HD] BREAKDOWN

The first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok Taika Waititis next indie film has been taking the internet by storm this morning, with its neon-soaked color scheme, lighthearted humor, and incredible helmets.

Alongside fellow 2017 Marvel movies Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ragnarok seems to have a certain life to it that other films in the superhero genre including Marvels own recent efforts have been lacking. And a lot of that, I think, has to do with Ragnaroks setting, which seems to be ditching the tired scenery of Earth for something a little more... extravagant.

Putting aside the original Guardians of the Galaxy for a moment, almost every Marvel movie has been centered around good old planet Earth. Which makes sense, given that these movies, especially at the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, needed to attract an audience far larger than comic book fans. And so they found ways to ground the fantastical ideas of the original comics, whether that was as vaguely realistic as a man flying in a superpowered iron suit or a fish-out-of-water Norse G*d of thunder. Placing the action in familiar environs like New York City or Albuquerque made superhuman stories feel human and intergalactic stakes feel immediate and relatable.

But were nearly 10 years into Marvels superhero franchise at this point, and what once was fresh is growing old and tired. Thor: ragnarok seems to be taking the same approach as Guardians of the Galaxy (itself a breath of fresh air for superhero cinema) by moving the action to a more fantastical setting. Or to put it another way, weve seen everything these heroes can save (and destroy) on Earth now, its time for a road trip.

Weve known for a while that Ragnorak would be more of a road trip movie showing off a buddy dynamic between Chris Hemsworths Thor and Mark Ruffalos Hulk. And if the trailer (or at the very least, Hemsworths trillion-watt smile in this GIF) is anything to go by, taking these characters weve gotten to know over the last few films and shaking up the setting looks like its going to lead to some results that, at the very least, will be distinguishable from the superhero movie churn.

I have watched this roughly two dozen times and Im still smiling.

You only need to look at recent entries like Ant-Man or Doctor Strange to see that some change was needed. Both films were perfectly fine entries in Marvels lineup, but suffered from the same simple problem that wed seen those same stories before. Doctor Stranges origin played like Iron Man with more cultural appropriation and, somehow, a thinner love story. The best parts of those films were scenes like Michael Peas scene-stealing exposition monologue or the mind-bending visuals from Stranges trips among the multiverse things that were wholly new to Marvels sprawling franchise.

And the new road trip direction is especially significant for Marvel given the state of its competition. After all, DC looks to be making up ground this year by borrowing from Marvels playbook through with a one-two punch of the character-driven Wonder Woman and a more lighthearted Justice League. And Universals Fast and Furious franchise is resembling a superhero franchise with each passing submarine missile.

Its time for Marvels heroes to start shooting for the stars

Its obviously too early to call Ragnarok a success at this admittedly early stage. We already know from the Doctor Strange credits teaser that the action will be making its way back to the more familiar streets of New York at some point in the film, and its possible the change of pace is only temporary at best. But for now, its nice to see that, in a series full of extraordinary heroes with abilities from some of comics wildest imaginations, were finally getting settings to match. Because while its films may have spent almost a decade stuck firmly on the ground, its time for Marvels heroes to start shooting for the stars.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/10/15250410/thor-ragnarok-marvel-road-trip-earth-space-fresh-stories