Nearly a decade after she last walked off a Marvel set, Natalie Portman is back, reprising her role as Jane Foster in a very different way in the upcoming blockbuster Thor: Love and Thunder.
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe first saw Portman portray Jane Foster in the first two installments of the Thor franchise, which released in 2011 and 2013. After being excluded from the third movie, Portman’s six-year MCU hiatus came to an end when Jane appeared during brief flashbacks in Avengers: Endgame. However, those moments in Endgame consisted solely of unused footage from the first two movies, so she didn’t actually have to shoot any new scenes.
This time, Jane won’t just be some brainy scientist or minor component of a side-mission. In Love and Thunder, she’ll be wielding Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor - a hero who debuted in Marvel comic books in 2014.
When news broke that Portman was rejoining the Thor cast at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, the Internet collectively lost its mind. "It was definitely nerve-racking [but] it’s really exciting," Portman said during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Despite the massive weight of fan expectations, Portman is still amazed at the opportunity she has to appear in some of the most popular movies on the planet.
“It’s always amazing to see yourself, even if only for a split second, in a Marvel film,” Portman recently told Variety Magazine.
Portman’s kids are loving her on-screen promotion, too. “My 5-year-old and my 10-year-old were so enthralled by this process, getting to visit the set and see me dressed up in a cape,” she said. “It made it really cool.”
In an interview with D23 Magazine, Portman alluded to some fun scenes she got to film with Chris Hemsworth for the upcoming movie, saying they got to “imagine the parts of [Jane and Thor’s] relationship we hadn't seen.” She added, “It was some of the funniest stuff in the film.”
Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, who also directed Thor: Ragnarok, is excited to give audiences a different take on Foster for the new flick. “I’ve seen her play the scientist character in Thor 1 and 2, and it just seemed pointless to do it again,” Waititi told Variety.
Portman had heard fans mention that Jane became the Mighty Thor in the comics but wasn’t sure if that’s where the MCU was headed. One conversation with Waititi made that possibility a reality. “I feel so lucky and feel so excited that that has become part of the story arc for Jane,” she said in a red carpet interview with Variety.
Fans won’t have to wait much longer to see how this character transformation will alter the fate of some of their favorite superheroes. Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters across America on July 8.
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