The famed producer shares how Natalie Portman was convinced to come back to the franchise.
There’s a new Thor in town!
During the Marvel panel at Comic-Con on Saturday, it was revealed that Natalie Portman will be be returning to the Marvel franchise as Jane Foster. This time, however, her character will be wielding the hammer as the Goddess of Thunder in the fourth installment, titled Thor: Love and Thunder.
Chris Hemsworth will also be appearing in the film, which will be directed by Taika Waititi, who helmed the franchise's third installment.
Amid the proceedings, the 38-year-old Oscar-winner even held up Mjolnir, the superhero’s beloved hammer.
"This feels pretty good," she said on the dais. "I've always had a little hammer envy."
ET’s Ashley Crossan spoke with Marvel super-producer Kevin Feige afterward, when he explained how the concept for the upcoming film came together. "She’s amazing, she’s always stayed in contact with us," he gushed.
As fans know, Portman appeared in the first two Thor films and provided voice-over for a scene from Thor: Dark World that was included in Avengers: Endgame during the time heist sequence. Feige added that "when Taiki had this idea and pitched it to her, she was in right away."
In the comics, Foster already became the wielder of Mjolnir when Thor was no longer worthy of the superpowers. However, Foster is also battling breast cancer and using the hammer exacerbates her condition – ultimately leading to her death and resurrection.
The upcoming film will also feature franchise regular Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, who will officially be the first LGBTQ superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Endgame left off, Thor named her king of the Asgardians in their village on Earth.
"As new king, she needs to find her queen," the actress stated during the panel, prompting a round of applause. "That will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted."
While speaking with ET, Feige also briefly touched upon the Doctor Strange sequel, which was hyped as the first "scary" film in the MCU.
“I remember seeing movies when I was a kid, like Spielberg movies Poltergeist, Raiders had scary moments and I think Scott Derrickson, our director, is gonna do a great job of instilling a little bit of scares into an otherwise big adventure film.”
Check out ET’s full chat with Feige up above. Get loads more news from the Marvel panel right here.
Thor: Love and Thunder arrives on Nov. 5, 2021.
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