Thor: Ragnarok teaser trailer is one wild ride

Thor and Hulk face off in the gladiatorial ring in Taika Waititi's take on the Marvel universe

Who knew we could all get this excited about a third Thor movie? Thank director Taika Waititi for that.

New Zealand's auteur of the moment has jumped off recent indie hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople to the blockbuster leagues without having, apparently, to compromise much of his distinctive, comedic vision.

Having long promised Thor: Ragnarok will be Marvel's most "out there" film - a fairly ambitious feat considering all the movies about talking raccoons and tiny bug men - the first trailer for the film does actually hint Waititi is living up to his word: this film looks like wicked fun.

Perhaps not so fun for the God of Thunder himself (Chris Hemsworth), who seems to have gotten on the wrong side of Cate Blanchett's Hela, looking like the queen of emos, with the trailer opening on the rather shocking moment the powerful goddess of death destroys Mjolnir.

Thor's losing streak also sees him fall into the hands of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) who delivers him into the hands of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) as a prime contender for his gladiatorial ring.

An arena which sees him face off against none other than Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) or, as he refers to him, "a friend from work"; just some of that trademark humour that anyone who knows Waititi's work well will recognise.

Thor: Ragnarok hits UK cinemas 27 October.