Rob and I agree on a lot of things. And one of them is that we're both all-in on the teaser trailer for THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER.

Directed by Taika Waititi, the film is a follow-up to his enormously successful THOR: RAGNORAK which set Marvel's favorite demigod on an interstellar spirit quest (of sorts) that was both weird and wonderful, hilarious and somber.

After all, Asgard was destroyed in the film and Odin passed on (both sad) but we got to see Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster and Waititi play Korg (both hilarious). Thor and Hulk fought it out in the ring and then teamed up to save the day (but not Asgard).

Not every Marvel fan likes THOR: RAGNORAK, but Kevin Fiege and company must have been significantly impressed with Waititi's ability to pull together such a massive film that THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER was quickly announced as a sequel. There was a lot of speculation about the film and whether or not Natalie Portman's character, Jane Foster would take the mantel of Thor, and having now seen the teaser trailer, we all know the answer to that question is "yes."

But what about the rest of the film? What about Christian Bale's performance as Gorr the God Butcher? What about Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie character? What will happen to Peter Quill, Drax, and the rest of the "Asgardians of the Galaxy"? LOL.

There's plenty of time to answer a few questions and build more excitement toward the debut of this film. But first, Marvel needs to successfully launch DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS on May 5. Managing an interconnected film franchise like the MCU takes a special kind of discipline and a special kind of person.

We talk about that too. But you'll need to listen to the podcast to learn more about that.

I invite you to listen in on my weekday conversations with my friend and business partner, Robert Meyer Burnett, as we talk about the things we love: great movies, inspiring television programming, nostalgic genre entertainment, and pop culture.

- Mike Bawden, co-host of the ROADTRIPPIN' Podcast

This is an original show produced for the PGS podcast network and was recorded on April 18, 2022.