I can’t wait to see Natalie Portman in Thor: Love and Thunder. With the shoot expected to begin in March, we should get a better look at the movie soon – hopefully including a picture of the actress in full costume. But today we at least have confirmation of one important element, and that’s that Portman’s Thor will indeed be using Mjolnir.
This isn’t exactly a huge surprise, of course, especially given that she was famously holding it aloft during the initial Thor: Love and Thunder unveiling at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, but it’s nice to know for sure. Portman revealed the news during an interview with ESPNW’s podcast when host Julie Foudy quizzed her about the project. After confirming that she’ll be wielding the hammer, Foudy joked that she should swing it around and say, “look at me now, boys!”
Natalie Portman and @JulieFoudy gave the #espnwsummit a sneak peek at “Thor: Love and Thunder” 😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/k951OMzzeU
— espnW (@espnW) October 21, 2020
Love and Thunder will mark another chapter in the tangled history of the MCU’s Mjolnir. After being a key part of Thor’s character from his first appearance, it was destroyed by Hela early in Ragnarok. Its loss spurred the God of Thunder to create Stormbreaker, though during Endgame, a version was retrieved from 2013 and was used by Steve Rogers to knock the stuffing out of Thanos in an extremely cool scene.
Thing is, that Mjolnir was subsequently returned to 2013, so as far as we know, there isn’t one in the post-Endgame MCU. Fans have been wondering how Marvel will square this circle, with theories ranging from Rogers secretly returning a fake to the past or the broken shards being reforged. My bet is that a ‘new’ Mjolnir will forge itself now that Thor has vacated his position as King of Asgard. Perhaps we’ll even find it with a telling inscription on the side: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if she be worthy, shall possess the power of… Thor.”
Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on February 11th, 2022.
