An MCU megastar who’s done more harm than good wants to make a Marvel return, but fans are praying to the gods it doesn’t happen

A veteran of four Marvel Cinematic Universe installments has expressed a willingness to return to the popular franchise, but most of its fans are far from enamored with the idea.

Natalie Portman played astrophysicist and Thor’s love interest Jane Foster in 2011’s Thor, 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. In the latter of those movies, after transforming into a bona fide cosmic superhero — the Mighty Thor — having proved worthy of wielding Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, she passed away from a very Earthly disease: stage 4 cancer.

Foster hasn’t proven to be a particularly popular character in the MCU, and Redditors rank her among the worst. Therefore, Portman’s recent suggestion in an interview with Total Film that she’d be willing to return to the franchise hasn’t gone down well.

When asked about returning, the actress replied, “I mean, no one’s asked me to. So I don’t know. But sure, that was super-fun.” She then continued talking up her enjoyment of the experience of playing Foster, saying, “Yeah, it was so fun. I had such a great time making it. I loved working with Taika [Waititi], and Chris [Hemsworth] is just the greatest, and so is Tessa [Thompson]. I was just laughing all day, every day. There’s only my highest love for that experience – and not to mention Australia, which is just the most glorious country.”

How have fans reacted to this news?

Fans quickly responded when The Hollywood Handle posted on X (formerly Twitter) about Natalie Portman’s willingness to return as Jane Foster – mainly with negativity.

AJ wrote, “No thanks,” and Ghost of Madness said, “No thanks!” Others quickly pointed out the slight issue of her character’s death. Glass Experience replied, “But, she died.” KAP’N said, “But she dead.” Diswis commented, “Slight problem. She’s dead.” TheLoneGam3r wrote, “But she is dead?”

Some fans would welcome her back with open arms, however. Harvin Torres said, “They never should have killed her off, in the first place. This was the moment they could have just switched to Mighty Thor and let Hemsworth do other projects.” Michael Andrews wrote, “Id be ok with that. If done in an amazing story.”

In this instance, the fans who think bringing Portman back as Foster is a bad idea are probably correct. Her sad mortal death was one of the MCU’s most meaningful. Cancer is a horrific disease, and resurrecting a character who’d died from it would feel like it was belittling it.

Moreover, superhero movie fatigue is real. The MCU needs to be looking forward with fresh ideas. Bringing back old characters — especially those who haven’t proven popular — is the opposite of that.

Too many dead (or seemingly dead) characters have returned in the franchise, one way or another — Loki, Thanos, Gamora, Vision, Ronan, and Killmonger, for example — and it reeks of running out of new ideas.

Jane Foster has found peace in Valhalla and should remain blissful in the afterlife. There’s no need for her to reappear.