Taika Waititi explains how Jane Foster’s return affects Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth is back for another go-around as Marvel's God of Thunder in the latest MCU epic written and directed by Waititi. Joining Hemsworth this time around is Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor’s old astrophysicist love interest from the first two Thor movies (and briefly Avengers: Endgame).
But of course as fans have already been informed, Jane Foster has undergone a lot of changes since she last crossed paths with her would-be boyfriend Thor. No longer merely a scientist and love interest for the man from Asgard, Portman’s Foster is now herself a superhero, The Mighty Thor. And of course being The Might Thor means Foster is now able to wield a rebuilt version of Mjolnir, Thor’s magic hammer. But supervillains aren’t the only thing Foster has to battle in Thor: Love and Thunder, as the movie’s comics-inspired storyline also sees the newly-minted superhero battling breast cancer.
And how exactly does the sudden return of Jane Foster, now a superhero herself, affect her old boyfriend Thor? Speaking to Empire, Thor: Love and Thunder writer-director Waititi teased some emotionally fraught moments coming up for Hemsworth’s character as he copes with the sudden arrival of The Mighty Thor. Waititi said:
“It’s been about eight years. She’s had a whole other life, and then the love of your life comes back on the scene, and is now dressed like you. It’s a real mindf--k for Thor.”
Indeed Foster’s return isn’t the only thing that throws Thor for a loop in Love and Thunder. As previously teased by Waititi, the aging superhero is also undergoing something of a midlife crisis in the movie. “Thor is just trying to figure out his purpose, trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he’s a hero or whether he should be a hero,” Waititi said. This whole process of self-discovery no doubt becomes a lot more complicated for Thor thanks to the “mindf—k” of his old girlfriend showing up, wielding his hammer and basically taking on his entire role. And it certainly won't make life easier that both Thor and Foster have to battle Christian Bale's Gorr the Butcher in the meantime.
Of course with Waititi both co-writing and directing Thor: Love and Thunder, the interplay between a crisis-ridden Thor and a suddenly-superheroic Foster is bound to be hilarious as well as emotional. Indeed of all the filmmakers who’ve tackled movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far, Waititi seems to have the best handle on how to mix flat-out comic book madness with human-scaled interaction, with a generous proportion of comedy also stirred into the mix. Comedy also happens to be right up the alley of Hemsworth, who has mastered the art of being super-heroic and self-deprecatingly hilarious all at the same time. It should indeed be a lot of fun when Hemsworth’s Thor reunites with Portman’s significantly changed Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Source: Empire
