Jane Foster's Mjolnir Art Debunks Major Thor: Love & Thunder Theories

New artwork for Jane Foster’s Thor transformation in Thor: Love and Thunder debunks several major theories about how Mjolnir re-enters the picture. Ever since it was confirmed that Natalie Portman would be suiting up as the Jane Foster incarnation of Thor in MCU Phase 4, there’s been much discussion over how her character wielding Mjolnir could even be possible. After all, the hammer was destroyed.

Thor: Ragnarok ended an era through the destruction of not only Asgard, but also Thor’s signature weapon. Despite its importance to the comics and his character, the MCU seemingly moved on from Mjolnir by having him realize that it was just a conduit for power that he already had within him. When Thor obtained Stormbreaker – a weapon of equal or greater power – it became doubtful that Thor would ever need Mjolnir again. That being said, it’s about to return in the hands of Jane, who has been missing from the MCU since Thor: The Dark World. Since her return was announced, one of the new movie’s biggest mysteries has concerned how Jane will wield a hammer broken into pieces by Hela (Cate Blanchett).

Various theories have provided possible explanations for how it can come back. However, most have been proven wrong by a singular piece of artwork that reveals the full design for Jane’s Mighty Thor and Mjolnir. Close inspection of the iconic weapon shows a number of cracks in the head of the hammer. Since it’s a look that’s consistent with what happened in Thor: Ragnarok, this particular detail seemingly rules out all the widely circulated theories about time travel, the multiverse, or the notion that someone in the MCU made it specifically for her. Instead, it seems that some sort of magic was used to reconstruct the pieces of the shattered hammer from Ragnarok.

Thor’s movies have never been about time travel or alternate realities, but the recent significance of these concepts made them feel like viable options. There was also the matter of Gorr the God Butcher, who was utilized as a time-traveling villain in the comics. Furthermore, Thor knows from Avengers: Endgame that he can take Mjolnir from the timestream, so this plot device being used again didn’t seem totally implausible. All of these things built evidence for the idea that the movie’s characters would venture into the past or another timeline to get a previous version of Mjolnir. Some even thought that the Mighty Thor herself might be a variant from the multiverse.

Jane using a repaired Mjolnir – as opposed to a time-displaced one – sheds some light on Marvel’s plans for the movie. Time travel or the multiverse being a factor in Mjolnir’s return would have created major implications for the story as a whole, but neither may end up playing a role in Thor’s battle with Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder. Now, attention can be shifted to a different question, which pertains to how the reconstruction of Mjolnir will work in the MCU.

More: Thor Theory: Jane Foster Is Behind Fat Thor's Love & Thunder Transformation