One of the more surprising announcements from the Marvel panel at San Diego Comic-Con was that Natalie Portman will be taking over Mjolnir-wielding duties in Thor: Love and Thunder. The news that Portman’s Jane Foster will be playing Thor hasn’t pleased everyone, but it has raised some fascinating questions about the female-led future of the MCU.
Now, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has clarified that Jane is going to be the ‘Mighty Thor,’ rather than the ‘Female Thor.’ Waititi made the reveal via Twitter, responding to debates about whether calling Portman’s character ‘Female Thor’ was such a good idea.
Correction. She's called Mighty Thor.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) July 21, 2019
In other news, we’ve learnt from James Gunn that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will take place after Thor: Love and Thunder, which complicates how exactly Thor will take the time out from his space mission to play the supporting role in the movie. Perhaps his adventure with the Guardians is one of the reasons behind Foster taking on his powers?
In any case, we’re excited about seeing Portman as the Mighty Thor, with the actress committing herself to getting “jacked” for the part. At the moment, we’re not sure whether the movie’s plotline will follow that of the comics series from Jason Aaron exactly, which sees Foster alternate between being Thor and suffering from cancer, or if Waititi will incorporate events from the comics run into the picture. But at the very least, we know that Valkyrie will be looking for her queen, and may well team up with Foster’s Thor, albeit probably not romantically.
Thor: Love and Thunder‘s November 2021 release date seems like a long wait, but we’ll be sure to follow all the news emerging from the film as it begins production, likely in 2020. In the meantime, there’s plenty of other Marvel movies to look forward to over the coming year, so be sure to check out our rundown of the next wave of releases heading our way.
