One of the most mind-blowing reveals from Marvel’s Comic-Con panel this weekend was Thor: Love and Thunder. We knew a fourth movie for the God of Thunder was happening, but what we didn’t know is that it would star a Goddess of Thunder as well. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are set to star in Taika Waititi’s second Marvel movie as expected, but the news that Natalie Portman would be returning to the franchise came as a huge surprise.
Not only that, but when we next see her, Jane Foster will be the Mighty Thor herself and be the one to wield Mjolnir. If you thought social media exploded when the announcement was made though, you should see how the crowd in Hall H reacted when Waititi dropped the bombshell at SDCC. In fact, you can view it in the video below, which shows the moment Portman arrived on stage and got to lift Mjolnir for the first time.
Natalie Portman recieves her Mjolnir. Jane will become the female Thor in Love and Thunder. pic.twitter.com/OXRtvompad
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 21, 2019
The actress has shared an image from this awesome moment on her Instagram as well, teasing that it’ll act as a “before” picture for when she gets super-jacked to get in character as an Asgardian goddess. Of course, people being what they are, there’s been a lot of discussion about whether a “female Thor” is necessary. Well, Waititi has responded to that ridiculous criticism already, pointing out Portman’s playing the Mighty Thor, not the Female Thor.
The Mighty Thor is, as comics readers will know, the 2015 series that introduced the idea of Jane becoming worthy to lift Mjolnir into the Marvel universe. As Portman skipped out Thor: Ragnarok, fans never assumed this storyline would be replicated faithfully on screen and that Valkyrie might take the job instead. Thompson’s character was appointed the new monarch of Asgard in Avengers: Endgame, though, so now it falls to Dr. Foster to become the new Thor.
