Taika Waititi Talks About Giving Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster A More Powerful Role

Thor: Love And Thunder director Taika Waititi explains why he’s bringing Jane Foster back for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Natalie Portman joined the MCU as Jane in the franchise’s early days in 2011’s Thor. 

Jane’s background as an astrophysicist makes her a helpful ally for Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder considering his mythical background isn’t exactly rooted in Earth’s science. Following their adventure in the first Thor movie, Portman returned for the film’s 2013 sequel, Thor: The Dark World, solidifying herself as a partner and love interest of the title hero. 

However, the romance does not go far as Jane is not featured in the third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok, and has since only made a brief, dialogue-free cameo in Avengers: Endgame.

Now, after nearly a decade, Portman is returning to play Jane in the fourth Thor film. Details about Jane’s storyline in Love And Thunder are scarce, but it has long been confirmed that Jane will become Mighty Thor, a warrior worthy of wielding Thor’s hammer, during the events of the film. Jane has been no pushover in her previous MCU appearances, but access to powers like Thor’s will give the character quite a different role to play when she returns. 

Waititi’s return for Thor 4 is also an exciting prospect since he is often credited with rejuvenating the Thor franchise with Ragnarok after the divisive The Dark World. Waititi tells Empire about the choice to bring Jane back after her absence in Ragnarok – and about the decision to make her a superhero. 

Director Waititi says, “I didn’t know we were going to use the storyline of the Mighty Thor character until we started working out the actual story… I was writing and it was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be kind of cool to bring Jane back into the storyline?’… You don’t want Natalie coming back and playing that same character who’s walking around with science equipment. You know, while Thor’s flying around, she’s left on Earth, tapping her foot going, ‘When’s he going to be back?’ That’s boring. You want her to be part of the adventure.”

Considering the positive reaction to the changes Waititi made to Thor’s character in Ragnarok, it’s likely that Jane will get a similar treatment in Love And Thunder. Waititi talks about giving Portman something different to do in Thor 4. Jane’s previous appearances have mostly relegated the character to helping Thor from the sidelines, so handing Portman the remains of Mjolnir to join Thor in the action means she’ll have a lot more to do.

Thor: Love And Thunder is likely going to be jam-packed with fan service considering it will also feature the Guardians of the Galaxy and Christian Bale’s introduction to the MCU as Gorr the God Butcher. But Portman’s return as Jane and her new role as Mighty Thor is likely to be just as much of a highlight. 

New takes on old characters are always fun, so seeing Jane as more of a superhero instead of a love interest is likely going to be almost as memorable as the laughs that are sure to come when Thor realizes he’s not the only God of Thunder anymore. Thor: Love And Thunder will hit theaters on July 8, 2022. (source: screenrant.com)

(ROHN ROMULO)