Natalie Portman’s return as Jane Foster was easily one of the most anticipated parts of Thor: Love and Thunder for many viewers. The introduction of Mighty Thor proved to be a fantastic addition to the movie, which the actress clearly had a lot of fun with. As exciting as it all was, fans were struck with tragedy before the movie ended: her cancer caught up with her.
After her death, the next time viewers see her is when her soul arrives in Valhalla, where she is greeted by none other than Idris Elba’s Heimdall. So is this the end of her character, or could she pop up again down the line?
Portman herself has previously noted that she is “open to anything,” so if the opportunity presented itself, she seems to be game.
Now, the actress has once again spoken about her MCU fate, and more specifically, about that post-credits scene surprise.
Jane Reaching Valhalla in Love and Thunder
In an interview with D23 Insider Disney Podcast, Thor: Love and Thunder's Natalie Portman talked about Jane Foster reaching Valhalla in the post-credits scene, her future at Marvel, and the logistics behind some key scenes.
When asked if her journey in the MCU is over, Portman commented that “it certainly feels like anything is possible” but made it clear she “[has] no insight into the answer to that.” It would seem Portman’s answers haven’t changed much since she last spoke about her future.
She then talked about the logistics behind the scene where Jane, Valkyrie, and Thor are tied up by vines, with Gorr chastising them. Portman revealed how “[they] were in a room that was basically just a normal room that had like black felt curtains around it,” and there were “people in blue suits running us in and out:”
“So we were in a room that was basically just a normal room that had like black felt curtains around it. And then, we were each on a platform that was on wheels and with nothing restraining us… We were just kind of fastened to this platform. It had kind of like a pole behind us that we were fastened to so that we wouldn’t fall when they moved it. And then they had people in blue suits running us in and out… and we had to pretend that we were restrained so we’d be like, ‘(mumbles) Mmmmm.’ And then they’d put everything in later. So yeah, that’s pretty wild.”
While working on the movie, one of the key parts of Portman’s performance ended up being her height. The actress was nine inches shorter than the Mighty Thor should be, so the film’s crew would build “very long platform[s]” for her to walk on alongside her fellow actors in various scenes:
“So I’m 5’3, and my character’s 6 foot which I don’t know if that has ever happened before in history, that someone has imagined a character for an actor that can’t physically fill those shoes. And I’m so grateful for all the movie magic that Marvel can provide to make that possible. But a lot of the practical solution for that on set was putting me on a deck. So we do a rehearsal, we figure out a path that I would be walking in the scene, and they’d build this platform. This is a very long platform, which I’m so grateful to our crew for being so generous about. And then poor Chris [Hemsworth] and Tessa [Thompson] would constantly be having to walk over it to get to their paths, and… [they’d] have to pretend like they weren’t leaping over a platform. It provided a lot of comedy. But it allowed me to look tall, so that was helpful.”
For those wondering what Jane’s final catchphrase was when she whispered into Thor’s ear before she died, it doesn’t look like the answer will be revealed anytime soon. Portman claimed that “[she’ll] take [that] with [her] to [her] grave.”
What’s Natalie Portman’s MCU Future?
The movie showed Jane Foster entering Valhalla for a reason. For those who know the character in the comics, she did end up dying because of her cancer—though, she was resurrected by Thor and Odin before stepping through the gates of the promised land.
While that clearly didn’t happen here, Jane does eventually go on to become a Valkyrie, which still remains her current mantle in the pages of the source material. Given the sisterhood showcased between her and Tessa Thompson’s character in the movie and all the teases of how lonely the King of Asgard is, it seems this future for Natalie Portman is inevitable.
But what will she do in the meantime? Maybe Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, the original Earth-616 one, is chilling in the halls of Valhalla—the two catching up could make quite an entertaining scene.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters worldwide.
