How was Marvel going to top the excitement of seeing all the cast of X-Men: Days Of Future Past onstage? Why, simple: just bring out Tom Hiddleston, in costume as Loki, to berate the crowd and whip them into a Thor: The Dark World-loving frenzy.
"Humanity! Look how far you've fallen, waiting all day in the sweltering heat, huddled in the dark. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. Stand back, you mewling quim! The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for a place in this chamber, this miserly palace of Midgard, the meagre place they call Hall H. You should have let me rule you when you had the chance. Yet here you are! Kneel! Your ears yearn for untold stories. Your eyes crave unseen sights. Your imaginations ache and hunger. Where are your Avengers now? Claim loyalty to me and I will give you what you need. Say my name! It seems I have an army. Feast your eyes!" Now that is how you introduce footage.
And finally, as the entire place chanted his name, the clip played. The footage shown began with a fight, Sif and the Warriors Three in a rural village fighting off pillagers of some sort. A rainbow bridge appears and Mjolnir flies out from it, followed by Thor. "I told you I had it under control," says Sif. "Is that why everything's on fire?" grins Thor. Just as the marauders fell back, there's a roar and a 15' rock monster appears to challenge the God of Thunder. He roars. "I accept your surrender," grins Thor. He's clearly regained his swagger since New York, smashing the monster to small pebbles.
We see bits we've already tasted in the trailer: Thor collecting Jane from London; Thor visiting Loki in prison, Rene Russo's Frigga looking worried and Anthony Hopkins' Odin warning of the dark. Idris Elba's Heimdall turns up, looking serious and warning of the threat to come. But there was lots of Loki here, first being threatened by Thor's friends if he dares betray his brother again, and then being punched in the face by Natalie Portman's Jane Foster ("That's for New York!").
There's a lot more of Jane here; this footage very much gave off the vibe that this is more of a love story than the first one was, with the pair snogging in both Asgard and on Earth. But Jane's clearly in danger too, again in both places, as Loki's suddenly-but-inevitably betrays his brother again to get another shot at revenge against Earth. And shockingly, as Thor is knocked to his knees before his enemies and reaches out his hand to summon Mjolnir, Loki's blade comes down and seemed, just before the footage ended, to sever his brother's hand. Shock!
While London's the scene of the battle here, Hopkins' voiceover makes it clear that all reality is at stake, so there should be some big action when Alan Taylor's film hits. **Thor: The Dark World **hits cinemas in the UK on October 30 in the UK.