Natalie Portman hints that Jane Foster's cancer storyline from the comics will factor in Thor: Love & Thunder. Announced during last year's San Diego Comic-Con, the film brings back Taika Waititi in the MCU as he directs the God of Thunder's (Chris Hemsworth) fourth solo film. Aside from Thor, however, the sequel will also bring back Jane who is set to assume the superhero persona, Mighty Thor.

Debuting in Kenneth Branagh's Thor from 2011, Jane was mainly depicted as the God of Thunder's love interest. She returned once more in Thor: The Dark World, but hasn't been spotted ever since. Thor: Ragnarok revealed that she and Thor broke up behind the scenes. At this point, there's a general assumption that Portman was simply done with the MCU, and this was Marvel Studios' way of writing her out without any fuss. This is why everyone was surprised to learn that not only in the actress returning to the universe after years of being absent, she's also going to play a bigger role as Mighty Thor.

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Shortly after the announcement that Jane is starring in Thor: Love & Thunder, conversations about whether or not the character's cancer arc will play into the film. Initially, Waititi was coy when asked about it, but in a new interview with Fatherly, Portman hints that it will indeed be adapted into the movie.

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 they are, the better it is. I’m trying to think — it’s based on the graphic novel of the Mighty Thor. She’s going through cancer treatment and is a superhero on the side.

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster looking distressed in Thor.

Jane has wielded the Mjölnir twice in the comics — the first time was in a What If storyline from 1978, followed by a canon narrative in Jason Aaron's Mighty Thor series that ran from 2015 to 2018. In the latter, Jane acquired all of Thor's superhero powers when she lifted the mystical hammer after the God of Thunder became unworthy. However, she was also suffering from breast cancer at this time; she refused to subject herself from magical treatments, so she attempted traditional chemotherapy instead. Unfortunately, every single time Jane transformed into Mighty Thor, her cancer worsened as the hammer purged her body all the toxins, which also included the radiation from the treatment. As her condition turned for the worse, she sought the help of Doctor Strange who knew her real identity.

Marvel Studios typically honors their source materials for their origin stories, and while Thor: Love & Thunder isn't the first film Jane Foster appears in, it will essentially function as an origin arc for Mighty Thor. That said, chances are that Waititi will be adapting the major plot points with few tweaks to update the narrative to modern times. What's interesting here is how it's going to fit in the film's overall narrative. Aside from debuting Mighty Thor, it will also shed a light on Thor's current trajectory, not to mention Valkyrie's stint as the new ruler of Asgard.

More: MCU Phase 4 Needs To Repair Iron Man's Broken Reputation

Source: Fatherly

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