Natalie Portman's Jane Foster may have stepped away from the MCU for a long time after Thor: The Dark World, but she has had plenty to offer in Phase 4. Not only did Portman reprise her role for the Party Thor's What If...? adventure, she just recently made a comeback to live-action in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The blockbuster sequel adapted Jane Foster's most famous comic story in which she is diagnosed with terminal cancer and wields Mjolnir to become the Mighty Thor, something which temporarily halts her illness. But ultimately the Asgardian power only made her worse and, by the end of Love and Thunder, Foster succumbed to her cancer following the battle with Gorr the God Butcher.
Now, Foster and the Mighty Thor may be dead, but Love and Thunder left off with a hint toward her MCU future as she was greeted by Idris Elba's deceased Heimdall at the Gates of Valhalla.
Although this may feel like a parting farewell to Portman's MCU tenure, comic history says this may not be the end of Foster.
Jane Foster's Ressurection History
During the "Death of the Mighty Thor" comic storyline, Jane Foster succumbed to her cancer for similar reasons to that of her MCU counterpart. After meeting her demise on Asgardia - a modernized Asgard that was built by Tony Stark - Thor, going by the name Odinson, took her body to the Moon upon which the Norse nation had been evacuated to.
Much like the MCU, Foster found herself at the Gates of Valhalla after her death, indicating this comic story may be an influence on her potential future.
Thor found himself unable to accept Foster's death, so, with the help of Odin, used the power of the God Tempest that was contained in the destroyed Mjolnir to bring Jane back to life.
After getting a new lease on life, Jane focussed on chemotherapy to treat her cancer, now that Mjolnir had been destroyed.
Sometime later, Jane became a Valkyrie after losing the Thor mantle. She was first offered the coveted Asgardian title by the spirits of Brunnhilde and the other fallen Valkyries.
Will Jane Foster Return to the MCU?
Marvel Studios has yet to confirm whether Jane Foster will return to the MCU after Thor: Love and Thunder. But the promise of her having some lease of life after death in Valhalla certainly lends to the idea that the doors have yet to close. Perhaps she may yet join Tessa Thompson's hero as another Valkyrie.
Love and Thunder also intriguingly placed its "Thor will Return" screen in the credits after the reveal that Foster had entered Valhalla. Who knows whether this was solely in reference to Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder returning or also a nod to the future of Natalie Portman's Mighty Thor.
As he greeted her in Valhalla, Heimdall told Jane that she is “very welcome here to the land of the gods,” suggesting this may be more of an invitation that she could opt to decline. There's no telling whether Heimdall does have the power to send her back to the land of the living, but there could be other ways back such as the God Tempest, after all, nobody ever truly stays dead in the world of comics.
Looking at the future, the chances are slim that Foster will ever become the Mighty Thor again after what Mjolnir was revealed to be doing to her body. The Valkyrie path appears far more plausible a direction for her, one that is only reinforced by the close bond she quickly built with Thompson's Valkyrie.
But even if Foster truly does prove to be dead in the MCU, the Multiverse leaves limitless opportunities for her return. Both The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars will offer openings for a Variant to be introduced, but she could also appear in another What If...? story down the line that touches on the events of Love and Thunder.
No matter what, Natalie Portman's Jane Foster almost certainly isn't completely done in the MCU, in fact, she may just be getting started. In the age of Disney+ in which many obscure characters are getting spin-offs, anything could happen; it's easy to imagine Portman and Thompson leading a Valkyrie series.
What Natalie Portman Has Said About Her MCU Return?
Natalie Portman has already addressed the topic of her chances of returning to the MCU several times since Thor: Love and Thunder.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Portman most interestingly said she is "open to anything" and feels like "anything is possible" for the future:
“I am open to anything. It’s such a cool character and I feel like anything is possible.”
Although, in an interview with the D23 Insider podcast, Portman made it clear that she “[has] no insight” into whether her MCU journey has come to an end.
So, Natalie Portman clearly has an interest in coming back to the MCU, if Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige wants her that is. But, as is typically the case with the MCU's biggest stars, the actress has no knowledge of the franchise's future plans as those secrets remain closely guarded by Feige and his team.
Thor: Love and Thunder is streaming now on Disney+.
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