Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder

Following a long absence, Jane Foster returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor: Love and Thunder, fighting alongside Thor and Valkyrie to defeat Gorr the God Butcher. The MCU film gives Jane a complete arc and fills in the gap of events between Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. With Jane’s hero journey complete, what’s next for Mighty Thor and could she still appear in a future MCU film?

Thor: Love and Thunder fast-tracks Jane’s story, providing a montage of her years with Thor and a reason behind their break-up, which was only alluded to in Thor: Ragnarok. At the same time, audiences catch up with Jane in the present day as she battles stage four cancer. Her illness is one of the reasons she becomes Mighty Thor in the first place, with the broken pieces of Mjolnir calling to her after Thor asks his beloved hammer to always protect Jane no matter what while they were still dating. Wielding Mjolnir proves crucial to Jane’s empowerment for a while, with her cancer and chemotherapy treatment having made her feel somewhat helpless. However, becoming Mighty Thor has its downsides, with Mjolnir draining Jane’s mortality and preventing her body from properly fighting the cancer.

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Despite being lighthearted and hopeful, Thor: Love and Thunder has no qualms about killing off characters — temporarily or otherwise. Despite promising to focus on her recovery, Jane becomes Mighty Thor one last time in the film’s final act, but it comes at a cost. Here is Jane Foster’s fate explained and what her future in the MCU might look like after Thor: Love and Thunder despite her seemingly being dead.

Is Jane Foster Dead At The End Of Thor: Love & Thunder?

Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor and Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Jane Foster dies in the arms of Thor at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder, sacrificing her life to wield Mjolnir one last time so she could help him defeat Gorr. She knew he was putting himself at risk by fighting the villain on his own. While Mjolnir made Jane powerful, it also sucked away her energy and life force faster. Her final action was destroying Mjolnir to prevent the necrosword from reconstructing itself and her use of the hammer unfortunately depleted the last of Jane’s reserves. Not even the mighty hammer could help her at that point. While there was hope Jane could somehow survive, especially since she was Mighty Thor and she, Thor, and Gorr the God Butcher had made it to Eternity where a wish could be granted, Thor: Love and Thunder confirmed Jane was seemingly dead for good in the post-credits scene. Jane ascended to Valhalla because she was a god who died in battle, joining Heimdall in the afterlife. Despite being Mighty Thor, it was unlikely Jane would have lived too long outside the transformation. It’s revealed her cancer was aggressive and she only had so long before it claimed her. Her time as Mighty Thor may have shortened that window, but Jane knew the consequences and it allowed her to not only rekindle things with Thor and go on space adventures, but to die a hero’s death.

Could Jane Foster Return In The MCU?

Natalie Portman as The Mighty Thor

Jane’s death in Thor: Love and Thunder seems to be set in stone, especially considering her ascent to Valhalla in the post-credits scene. What’s more, the MCU film gave her a hero’s arc before she died sacrificing herself, which suggests Jane is gone for good. Mighty Thor might be no more, but is anyone ever really dead in the superhero world? The genre has always figured out ways to resurrect its characters. Korg wasn’t dead for very long and neither was Zeus, which means Jane could always come back in some way down the line. Her story might be over for now, but she could return in the future, perhaps when there is a big enough threat to warrant her comeback from Valhalla. What’s more, Jane arrived in Valhalla, but she had yet to enter its gates. It’s possible she can be called back to Earth before she permanently enters the afterlife.

In the comics, Jane also dies after using Mjolnir one last time, perishing after it is destroyed and she returns to her human form. However, Odin and Thor combined their power and efforts to bring Jane Foster back to life despite making it to the gates of Valhalla. Following her resurrection, Jane became Valkyrie and had an entirely new power set to go along with her new title. Odin is gone in the MCU, but it’s possible he witnessed Jane’s death and teams up with Thor in a future film to revive her. While it certainly seems like Jane’s arc is done, her death doesn’t have to be the end for her journey. Her turn as Mighty Thor was short-lived, but it’s possible only that aspect of her story is over and her resurrection could take her in a new direction. There is a lot of potential for Jane’s story to continue past Thor: Love and Thunder, but the MCU will have to bring her back first.

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