Thor: Love and Thunder is set to showcase the return of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, but with a twist. Portman will not just portray the leading astrophysicist for the film, but instead she will transition into the role of The Mighty Thor.
Portman made her MCU debut during 2011's Thor, serving as the main love interest for Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder. The actress reprised her role during 2013's Thor: The Dark World, where she was further pushed to the forefront due to the fact that she was heavily affected by the Aether a.k.a. the Reality Stone.
Since the Thor sequel though, Portman's MCU character hasn't been featured onscreen in another MCU project, until she was briefly brought back through archival footage in Avengers: Endgame. Despite that, Marvel Studios surprised everyone when they officially announced that Portman would become The Mighty Thor in Love and Thunder.
Plot details of how exactly Foster will become worthy of Mjolnir are still being kept under wraps, but set photos managed to showcase the fact that Portman gained muscles for her new role.
Now, the Black Swan actress has detailed her experience to prepare for her MCU comeback.
Natalie Portman Opens Up About Thor 4 Return
Natalie Portman sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about her MCU return as Jane Foster a.k.a. The Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Portman first opened up about the kind of training that she went through while preparing for the transition into the Mighty Asgardian, admitting that it was "really fun" while also describing the experience as "very physical:"
"It was really fun. I worked with a trainer, Naomi Pendergast, for, I think it was, four months before shooting, and then obviously all the way through filming. We did a lot of weight training and a lot of protein shakes—heavyweight training that I haven’t ever done before. Of course, I’ve never really aimed to get bulky. It was very physical, so it was a lot of both agility work and also strength work."
When asked about how the physical transformation shaped her work onscreen, the Marvel actress explained that it helps her to get into character while also saying that it "definitely changed the way [she] moves:"
"It definitely helps you get into character, and it’s definitely changed the way I move. You walk differently; you feel different. I mean, it’s so wild to feel strong for the first time in my life."
Natalie Portman Is Ready to Become Mighty Thor
Natalie Portman is no stranger to the action genre, having played similar roles in thrilling films like 2018's Annihilation and 1994's Léon: The Professional. Still, the actress' latest comments about her training suggest that this is an experience like never before, which makes sense since this is her first transition into a superhero role.
Portman's description of her experience as "very physical" isn't surprising, considering that heavy weight training and a good diet are both parts of the process. The fact that the physical transformation was able to help the actress to "get into character" is a good sign already, and it will be interesting to find out how this will translate onscreen.
Interestingly, this isn't the first time that MCU actresses opened up about their Marvel training. Eternals star Angelina Jolie previously discussed that the physical aspects of her performance required a different type of effort since it's tied to Thena's abilities, while MCU newcomer Kathryn Newton, who plays Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, also gave a preview of her training progress for the threequel.
It remains to be seen how Jane Foster will fit into the narrative of Love and Thunder, but it's safe to say that the character will be utilized in multiple action sequences. At this stage, many would agree that Portman's dedication and experience with action scenes will definitely help with her grand transformation into the MCU's next God of Thunder.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to premiere in theaters on May 6, 2022.
