Thor: Love and Thunder made (shock)waves this earlier week when the first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated Marvel movie finally dropped after a record-breaking long time. While the teaser showed the return of fan favorites like Valkyrie, Korg, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, easily the main event was the reveal of Jane Foster's Mighty Thor.
Excitement levels were through the roof when Natalie Portman appeared on stage at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. The actress confirmed she would be returning in the fourth Thor movie after sitting out Thor: Ragnarok. She also revealed that not only would she be back as Thor's ex-girlfriend Jane, but she'd also be wielding his might hammer Mjolnir and taking on the mantle of Mighty Thor.
Jane Foster's turn as the Mighty Thor has been established in Marvel comics for some time now but just how closely Thor: Love and Thunder will stick to its source material has remained unclear. However, a recent item listing has confirmed that Thor 4 will stay true to one particular aspect of Jane Foster's comic roots.
Jane Foster's Cancer Storyline Confirmed For Thor 4
An online listing for an officially licensed replica of the Mighty Thor's helmet from Thor: Love and Thunder has revealed some more details about Natalie Portman's character in the film, seemingly confirming that Jane Foster will be "suffering from cancer" in the MCU sequel.
The full listing via Marvel and Eaglemoss notes that Jane will be "battling cancer in her human form" while fighting the otherworldly Gorr (played by Christian Bale) when she's in her godly form:
Suffering from cancer, astrophysicist and Thor’s ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster, visited New Asgard and her life was changed forever. Mysteriously, the broken pieces of Mjolnir, the hammer of the thunder god, transformed her into the Mighty Thor and gifted her the superpowers of Thor, to battle threats internal and external. Wielding Mjolnir herself, she had become a godly protector and a new hero was born!
With the help of Thor, Valkyrie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Mighty Thor was faced by the powerful Gorr, the God Butcher. With divine powers himself, Gorr was driven to rid the universe of gods wherever he found them. Battling cancer in her human form and Gorr in her godly form, Jane Foster was embroiled in an epic struggle with plenty of love and thunder!
The Mighty Thor Battles Cancer
It's been suspected for a while that Thor: Love and Thunder would include Jane Foster's battle with breast cancer as she did in the comics. Natalie Portman alluded to the fact that Jane would be undergoing cancer treatment in an interview last year, but now this listing seemingly confirms that this will indeed be canon in the new Thor movie.
Foster's struggle with breast cancer formed a major part of her character development in the comics. Essentially, once she became Mighty Thor her new powers eradicated the chemotherapy from her system, but they were still unable to cure her completely of cancer.
This created quite the dilemma for Jane in the comics as she remained stricken by her illness whenever she wasn't wielding Mjolnir. It seems this struggle will be included in Thor: Love and Thunder as well, as the description claims Jane battles cancer "in her human form" and the villain Gorr the God Butcher in her "godly form."
The listing also mentions that when Foster visits New Asgard in the film the pieces of Thor's broken hammer Mjolnir, which was shattered by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, "mysteriously" transform her into the Mighty Thor. This seems to align with videos taken from the Thor: Love and Thunder set last year which showed Portman being thrown around in an aerial stunt that many suspected was her godly transformation.
We'll see exactly how this all plays out when Thor: Love and Thunder hits cinemas on July 8, 2022.
