Natalie Portman once said she had no interest in returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so Taika Waititi must have given her a hell of a pitch to convince the Academy Award winner to return for next year’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
It no doubt would have helped that the plot involves Portman’s Jane Foster following in the footsteps of her comic book counterpart by inheriting Mjolnir and becoming a superhero, a far cry from her appearances in the first two installments that largely wasted her as a one-dimensional love interest.
Plenty of set photos have been making the rounds over the last week as reshoots continue on the Odinson’s fourth solo installment, and a new batch show Portman and Chris Hemsworth going for a casual romantic stroll, as you can see below.
Based on their respective wigs and apparel, these look to be more flashbacks set around the time of The Dark World, which could be offering an explanation as to why Jane has been absent from the MCU ever since. Thor: Love and Thunder is packed to the brim with A-list talent and poised to feature plenty of high-stakes cosmic action, but all the spectacle in the world isn’t worth a damn unless audiences have a reason to invest in the characters, with the Thor/Jane dynamic being pushed to the forefront for the first time in almost a decade.