Thor 4 spoilers follow: As of this week, we see the completion of the biggest MCU coup in recent years in Thor 4: Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster back to Chris Hemsworth’s side. That the Marvel character is getting an MCU farewell is by no means as self-evident as the Taika Waititi blockbuster would have us believe.
Natalie Portman hasn’t shot any new scenes for the MCU since Thor 2, which is 9 years. Her flash moment in Avengers 4 consists of archive footage. Jane Foster was more or less written out of the MCU. We briefly cover how Thor 4: Love and Thunder explains her absence, and then describe what happened behind the scenes.
This is how Thor 4 explains the absence of Jane Foster in Thor 3
Very easily: Thor and Jane broke up. Jane went on to become a successful scientist and author. Thor fought evil with the Avengers. The power couple eventually grew apart. In the film, we learn that Thor never quite got over the breakup. Years later, he and Jane reunite in New Asgard, where Jane is (supposedly) curbing her cancer with the help of the ancient Mjolnir hammer.
Thor 4: Funny Marvel Fun | Love and Thunder Review
Before Thor 4: Natalie Portman and the MCU parted ways
It started with the first Thor sequel at the beginning of the last decade. The highly sought-after actress is said to have only agreed to take part in Thor 2: The Dark Kingdom because Patty Jenkins was hired to direct it. For the occasion to shoot the first Marvel blockbuster under the creative direction of a woman, Portman postponed a scheduled time-out.
However, in 2011, Patty Jenkins and Marvel broke up their engagement and Alan Taylor made Thor 2. Portman is said to have been outraged when she learned of the decision, shared by Patty Jenkins. She was shooting the film due to contractual obligations and worked to rule.
Thereafter Jane Foster disappears from the MCU with a hard fracture. The whole affair is one of the biggest failures in the otherwise flawless MCU history, which we analyze in more detail here.
Jane Foster’s MCU departure: Marvel and Natalie Portman’s official reasoning
©Marvel
Natalie Portman as Jane Foster
What exactly happened after the argument is not known. Of the Portman’s departure however, tore a hole in the series that was intended for continuity. The Marvel Universe mentioned Jane Foster often enough not to make her absence seem downright odd. At the latest before Thor 3: Day of Decision, this strategy reached its limits. The second main character next to Thor shouldn’t be there anymore?
MCU boss Kevin Feige put forward a dubious explanation. It allegedly failed due to the space setting. By the way, Natalie Portman takes the statement almost verbatim when she returns to Comic-Con.
You approached me. Obviously I wasn’t a part of Thor 3 because of the places he’s set. He did not play on earthon which my character is located.
As if there hadn’t been crazier things in the MCU than women physicists in space.
The fact that Marvel and Natalie Portman got back together is due to Taika Waititi wanting to reinterpret the role of Jane. And Natalie Portman’s children. The actress is at a stage in her life where she wants to impress her children. For example as a female Thor.
So in the end everything went well and the MCU brought its greatest love story to a fitting end.
*. . .
How did you like the return of Jane Foster?