Natalie Portman Will Be the 'Goddess of Thunder' in Marvel's Phase Four 'Thor' Movie

Philip Ellis

July 21, 2019 2:02 PM

After Endgame, the future of Marvel Studios' Thor franchise looked uncertain; Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder had relinquished his rule of New Asgard and departed for adventures new with the Guardians of the Galaxy. But fear not; director Taika Waititi has just confirmed that Marvel's next phase will still include Thor, just never as we've seen the character on-screen before.

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During a panel at San Diego Comic Con, Natalie Portman appeared on stage, announcing her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Jane Foster, and revealing that she will be taking on the mantle of Thor in the upcoming movie Thor: Love and Thunder. Echoing a 2014 storyline from the source comics, Love and Thunder will follow Jane as she is deemed worthy of wielding Thor's hammer, and imbued with his powers, assuming the title 'Goddess of Thunder'.

Natalie Portman, thats it. Thats the tweet. pic.twitter.com/vz5OgJPbCl heroina do lixo (@dcucomics) July 21, 2019

Portman played Jane Foster in the first two Thor movies, but didn't return for Ragnarok, and fans had assumed that she would probably never appear again, as her role in the movies consisted largely of being Thor's love interest. (While plenty of familiar faces returned for Endgame, Portman's cameo comprised of unused footage from The Dark World.) But it looks like Marvel and Waititi were able to lure her back with the promise of a much meatier part in this fourth instalment of the series.

While the prospect of a female Thor caused some controversy among comics fans when the new version of the character debuted in 2014, it's worth noting that Marvel set a precedent much earlier; Jane first wielded Mjolnir all the way back in the Seventies.

To all the non-comic-readers who are complaining about a female Thor pandering to an "SJW" agenda, here's Jane Foster as Thor in 1978. pic.twitter.com/lkwNxi2Kkl Richard Littler (@richard_littler) July 21, 2019

In addition to introducing a female Thor, Love and Thunder will also see the return of Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, whom Thor appointed as King of Asgard before leaving. During the same panel, Thompson remarked to the audience that Valkyrie's first order of business as King will be to "find a Queen," heavily implying that the character's bisexuality will be depicted as canon on-screen.

Philip Ellis