Marvel Studios held their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday and during the festivities took the time to unveil its Phase 4 slate of films. Among the films, we should be expecting from them in the coming years is Thor: Love and Thunder. This will be the fourth film in the ever-growing Thor franchise. Both Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are expected to return, respectively, as Thor and Valkyrie with Taika Waititi returning behind the camera following his critically acclaimed directorial outing for Thor: Ragnarok. Among these many happy returns will be Natalie Portman, reprising her role as Jane Foster.
Portman played Jane in the first Thor movie and its first sequel, The Dark World, but has not ventured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since then. Jane has often been mentioned in passing in dialogue, but Portman herself has not played the character in over six years. Jane can be seen in Avengers: Endgame, but those scenes were merely unused deleted scenes from Thor: The Dark World. Although, it’s worth noting that Portman to drop in during production to record new dialogue.
It was said during the Hall H panel that Love and Thunder will serve as a live-action adaptation of the comic book series, Thor: God of Thunder, by Jason Aaron. It was in this series that Jane Foster becomes Thor, meaning that we should fully expect Natalie Portman to be wielding Mjolnir in the near future.
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For those unfamiliar with Aaron’s run behind the pen, the series showcases a cancer-stricken Jane Foster who, after Thor lost the ability to wield Mjolnir, the hammer sought Jane out and Jane accepted, becoming the female Thor, unbeknownst to the original Thor. Whenever she became Thor, the hammer purged all toxins and chemotherapy from her body. In the process, the cancer was left behind and worsened with every transformation until Jane finally succumbed to her death. If the film follows the canon of its source material, we could be in store for a heartbreaking onscreen end to Jane Foster.
Apart from the inevitable tears that’ll come with the film, the prospect of a female Thor is an intriguing one to bring to the big screen. In fact, between a new Blade and a Multiverse of Madness for Doctor Strange, Phase 4 itself seems like it’ll be full of intrigue. The next few years will be a great time to be a Marvel fan. Stay tuned for future updates on behalf of your pals over at The Nerd Stash.