Although Thor: The Dark World isn't highly regarded, Thor: Love and Thunder may still include flashbacks to the 2013 film involving Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster and Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder. Thor: Love and Thunder will be written and directed by Taika Waititi, who reinvented the Asgardian god into a more comedic and emotionally vulnerable hero. But Natalie Portman was absent from Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok and she practically missed out entirely on Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Directed by Alan Taylor, Thor: The Dark World is one of the least popular Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. However, Thor 2 is still a crucial MCU film because it introduced the Aether AKA the Reality Infinity Stone and helped set Loki (Tom Hiddleston) on his path to redemption. In addition, Thor: The Dark World was the last time Natalie Portman played Dr. Jane Foster in live-action. Portman had behind-the-scenes issues with Marvel Studios at the time but she has finally returned to the franchise, and this includes voicing Jane in What If...? In Thor: Love and Thunder, Jane is also literally going to become the Goddess of Thunder so she gets to take her place as a superhero who's the equal of her Asgardian on-again/off-again love interest, Thor Odinson.

Related: The MCU Just Repeated Thor 2's Jane Foster Insult

Thor: Love and Thunder set photos have shown both Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster wearing wigs that give them the same looks they sported in Thor: The Dark World. They both look physically different in scenes set in the 'present day' of the MCU, i.e. 2024, or about 9 years since the events of Thor 2. Jane and Thor reprising their 2013 looks indicate that Love and Thunder will have flashbacks to The Dark World and this makes sense. It was the last time Thor and Jane were romantically together and it's a happy time the Thunder God still thinks wistfully about. Thor mentioned his ex-girlfriend in Ragnarok and during Avengers: Endgame. The latter was particularly sad since Fat Thor was drunk and he allowed the other Avengers to glimpse how emotionally distraught he still was over his breakup with Jane.

Jane and Thor talking in the rain in Thor: The Dark World

Since Thor and Jane Foster's relationship ended after Thor: The Dark World, it's wiser move to directly reference the film rather than ignore it. Marvel Studios is certainly aware that Thor: The Dark World isn't particularly beloved by fans but the events in the film are still pivotal to the relationship between Thor and Jane. After all, Avengers: Endgame already made Thor: The Dark World part of the Avengers' time heists; Thor and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) went back to Asgard in 2013 to steal the Aether, and this included footage of Natalie Portman as Jane after Thor brought her to meet his parents and cure the astrophysicist of her infection from the Aether.

Although Jane Foster and Thor were battling to save the world against Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) in The Dark World, there were plenty of happy moments between the couple. Thor and Jane rekindled their romance and, this time, it was Foster who was the fish out of water when Thor brought her to Asgard. Jane also met Thor's parents Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene Russo), who sadly died at Malekith's hands in Thor 2.

After The Dark World, Thor's life became about repeatedly suffering tragic losses: Thor broke up with Jane, Odin died, his hammer Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela (Cate Blanchett), and Asgard was annihilated by Surtur (Clancy Brown). Thanos (Josh Brolin) then killed Loki and Heimdall (Idris Elba) as well as half of the survivors of Asgard. Given what Thor endured after he broke up with Jane, it makes sense why Thor: Love and Thunder would purposely look back on the last, happy time Thor and Jane were a couple as they reunite in MCU Phase 4.

Next: Thor 4 Can Finally Pay Off The Dark World's Post-Credits Scene

Key Release Dates