Surely one of the most anticipated upcoming movies isThor 4, which will bringTaika Waititiback to write and direct following his soft reboot of the franchise with the outstandingThor: Ragnarok. Thus far, specific plot details forThor 4– officially titledThor: Love and Thunder– have been under wraps. But as the film’s production start-date looms closer, actressNatalie Portmanhas seemingly confirmed a long-rumored storyline that her character Jane Foster will follow in the movie.
Last year,Waititi revealedthat he was considering adapting theThe Mighty Thorcomics run which finds Jane Foster battling cancer and taking on the mantle of Thor at the same time. Waititi cautioned that things could change as they did onRagnarok, which evolved even deep in production and post-production as Waititi adjusted the storyline for what would end up being one of the most popular MCU films.
And now, speaking withYahoo!(viaComingSoon), Portman seemingly confirmed that Waititi has indeed decided to go theMighty Thorroute, teasing that Jane will be battling cancer inThor 4:
“I can’t tell you that much. I’m really excited. I’m starting to train, to get muscles. If there can be all these female superheroes, the more of them there are, the better it is. I’m trying to think — it’s based on the graphic novel ofThe Mighty Thor. She’s going through cancer treatment and is a superhero on the side.”
That’s really sensitive territory to tackle in a superhero movie, but honestly Waititi has more than earned the benefit of the doubt. He’s shown a knack for balancing the super silly and the incredibly earnest in his films, as evidenced by his Oscar-winning screenplay forJojo Rabbit. And honestly, after Portman’s talent was essentially wasted in the first twoThormovies (especiallyThor: The Dark World), she certainly deserves some meat on her character’s storyline beyond pining forChris Hemsworth’s admittedly swoon-worthy hero.
A firm filming start-date forThor 4hasn’t yet been completely confirmed, but expect it to be in the relatively near future – likely in the first half of 2021. First up on the MCU docket,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsis completing filming in Australia andDoctor Strange 2is expected to start shooting — also in Australia — by November.
Thor: Love and Thunderalso starsTessa ThompsonandChristian Baleand will be released in theaters on July 26, 2025.
