Natalie Portman is an incredibly versatile actress! From early career success in the Star Wars prequels to her Oscar-winning performance in Black Swan, Natalie, 40, is one of the most exciting stars of the past 30 years! In 2011, she joined the then-relatively new Marvel Cinematic Universe as Jane Foster, earning her a whole new set of fans! Throughout a number of the Thor sequels, Natalie’s character has undergone a wide array of changes, developing over the decade-plus since the first movie hit theaters. Learn more about Natalie and Jane’s journey throughout the MCU here!
‘Thor’
Fans were introduced to Natalie’s character Jane Foster in the first Thor film in 2011! She starred alongside other MCU staples like Chris Hemsworth (who played the God of Thunder himself), Kat Dennings (who played her assistant Darcy) and Stellan Skarsgård (who portrayed Dr. Erik Selvig). Even though its an all-star cast, the director is apparently what sold her on the movie! “The thing that really made me want to work on it was Ken’s involvement. I thought it was such an interesting and unexpected idea to have Kenneth Branagh directing the Marvel Thor, and it was so exciting to have the opportunity to come to work with Ken everyday,” she said in a 2011 interview with Clevver Movies.
While Jane was already an established astrophysicist in the MCU, the movie introduced her to Thor, when he crashed into earth in New Mexico, where she was doing research. After learning that he was the God of Thunder, there were some sparks (pun-intended) between the two, and it seemed clear that they were going to have a romantic connection!
After their first connection, Thor went to go look for his mystical hammer Mjölnir, and Jane helped him after running into S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. During the search for the Asgardian weapon, the pair started to develop romantic feelings for each other, and the God of Thunder was getting ready to settle down on Earth. When a Destroyer attacked, Thor ran back to the desert to fight, and Jane was there to cheer him on! After Thor defeated the villians, the pair shared a kiss, but he decided that he needed to return to his home in Asgard.
‘Thor: The Dark World’
After the events of the first movie and The Avengers, Natalie’s character moved to London to continue her astrophysics research! Jane was studying similar portals to the one that first led her to meet Thor in the first place, when she was mysteriously transported to another realm. Of course, Thor came to find her, and brings her to Asgard for his dad Odin (Anthony Hopkins) to take a look at her, who realized the scientist had been possessed by a mysterious, deadly force called the Aether.
During the time on Asgard, Thor tries to stop a deadly force from destroying his home, while also trying to save Jane from the Aether. The scientist was imprisoned due to her possession by the Aether. Jane’s arrival in the mystical world was definitely one of the exciting parts for Natalie to work on the movie! “It was a little bit scary at first to have Jane going to Asgard,” she joked in an interview at the time of the movie’s release. “It’s going to be so awkward to have all of these Amazonian, big, beautiful actors around talking in faux-Shakespearean verse, and then, there’s little me there with my valley girl accent talking.” She also said she was excited to work alongside Anthony and Tom Hiddleston, who played Loki.
After bursting her out of the prison, Thor and Loki developed a plan to lure Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) into removing the Aether from Jane, which Thor then destroyed. The pair returned to earth where they had to defeat Malekith with both Thor’s magic powers and Jane’s scientific knowledge. Of course, the couple shared a passionate kiss after saving the world again! After winning the battle, Thor goes back to Asgard, but he returns to Earth a few days later to be with Jane.
After ‘The Dark World’
While Natalie didn’t make more appearances in the MCU until the most recent Thor movie, Jane was referenced in Thor: Ragnarok! During a scene where Thor and Loki are talking on Earth, a few fans go to snap a picture with the God of Thunder, and one offers her condolences. “I’m sorry to hear that Jane dumped you,” she said, but Thor fired back: “She didn’t dump me. I dumped her! It was a mutual dumping.”
‘Thor: Love And Thunder’
Almost 10 years after The Dark World hit screens, Natalie will be making her return to the Thor franchise in the upcoming Thor: Love And Thunder, which is expected to hit theaters on July 8! While not many details have been released about the upcoming movie, it is clear that somewhere between The Dark World and now, Jane got superpowers! In the first trailer for the movie, she was seen wielding Mjölnir, much to Thor’s surprise! She takes on the moniker of “Mighty Thor,” as she does in the comic books. Natalie rocks an outfit very similar to Thor’s throughout the trailer!
The movie will also likely feature Jane in some pretty intense action scenes! Natalie has spoken about her intense workouts for the movie! “I’m super tired after working out and during and dreading before,” she joked during an interview on The Tonight Show.