It’s appropriate that the opening of Iron Man 3 is complimented by the release of the first teaser trailer for the next cab off the Marvel rank, Thor: The Dark World. It’s an impressive teaser which promises giant spaceships, epic battles and plenty of magic.

In this sequel an ancient evil, one that predates the universe, has returned to plunge Earth and all the nine realms into darkness. With Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Asgard powerless to stop it, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must undertake a perilous journey – one that will reunite him with Jane (Natalie Portman) but force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. Just a ordinary day for our hammer-wielding friend then…

Although we don’t see all of them here, pretty much the entire cast of the first movie has returned, including Tom Hiddleston (as Loki), Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings…

The new kid on Thor’s block is Christopher Eccleston as supervillian Malekith the Accursed – leader of this ancient race. The former Doctor Who has played a blockbuster baddie before, in G.I. Joe, but thanks to a new makeup job, he’s completely unrecognisable.

Thor: The Dark World wages war at cinemas on 31 October.

A great teaser makes the audience ask a lot of questions. How could that kid levitate a truck? Is that thing tearing up land and sea a ship, or a weapon? Where the heck is that LOTR-style battle taking place? Will Loki turn on his brother again? And will Jane die (and possibly be resurrected)?

After discovering that Iron Man 3’s promo left plenty for us to discover in the cinema, we may not find answers to these questions in subsequent trailers – although we all know what Loki will do.

There’s a bit much slow-mo going on, but I like this first teaser a lot. Iron Man 3 raised the bar, so Thor: The Dark World will have to be pretty awesome to top that.

Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Directed by Alan Taylor, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander and Rene Russo.

Thor: The Dark World opens 31 October, 2013.