Thor: Love And Thunder To Feature Natalie Portman As Female Thor
Is this the Thor you were looking for?
Perhaps the most surprising revelation to come out of Marvel Studios' Hall H panel at this year's edition of San Diego Comic-Con was the announcement that Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth Thor movie scheduled to touch down in theaters in November 2021, will feature Natalie Portman. And not just Natalie Portman as her Thor franchise character Jane Foster as she's been presented thus far. Oh, no – Thor: Love and Thunder is set to see Jane Foster taking up the hammer Mjolnir to become the female Thor.
Director Taika Waititi, who returns to the Thor film series after helming the ground-breaking Thor: Ragnarok that totally changed how the hero was depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealed at the Marvel panel that he read the Mighty Thor comics run by Jason Aaron and was inspired by the storyline that introduces the female iteration of the Asgardian god of thunder. Per Entertainment Weekly, Waititi shared that there was "only one person who could play that role" — and that lucky lady is Natalie Portman.
The actress stepped up to the Hall H stage, holding a prop Mjolnir in her hand and joking, "I've always had a little hammer envy."
Of course, Portman will join Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie for Thor: Love and Thunder. While Thor has been "heading to the 7-11 for a little Netflix subscription" and simply chilling on the couch, as Hemsworth stated during the panel, Valkyrie has been "re-investing in her people" and helping to rebuild New Asgard, of which she is now the primary protector thanks to Thor's passing-of-the-torch to her at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
Thompson further opened up about Valkyrie's journey in Thor: Love and Thunder by saying, "I think first of all, as king, [Valkyrie] needs to find her new queen. That would be her first order of business ... then hopefully she'll hang out with love and thunder" (via Collider). The actress then added that the love Valkyrie feels for Thor gives her "thunder all over." (Aww!)
That comment contrasted with Thompson's remark about Valkyrie wanting to find a queen to rule beside her as king of New Asgard seems to suggests that Valkyrie could have a thing for both Thor and Jane in Thor: Love and Thunder – which would finally make the character's in-comic-canonic bisexuality fact in the MCU. After the only scene that discussed Valkyrie's sexuality was cut from Thor: Ragnarok, it would certainly be wonderful for what may be the final Thor movie to address that part of her identity. And it would actually make sense, too, given what Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said about the future of the MCU: the films will introduce a few LGBTQ+ characters — some of whom we haven't met before, and some of whom we have. Could Valkyrie be one of them, her sexuality confirmed in Thor: Love and Thunder? It's something to chew on, friends.
In all, hearing that Portman is coming back for Thor: Love and Thunder to become the female Thor is pretty freakin' amazing, if we're being candid here. Her character was underutilized throughout the first two Thor films (not directed by Waititi, mind you), and she was barely a blip on the screen in Avengers: Endgame (scenes for which Portman didn't even need to shoot since the team just implemented old footage of her). Jane has been a kickass character in the comic books, and it's high time that she shines just as brightly on the silver screen. And who knows? Maybe in addition to the thunder she brings as Lady Thor, Jane will also feel the love with her male counterpart and the ruler of New Asgard.
Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on November 5, 2021.