Ahead of the highly anticipated release of Thor: Love & Thunder, Natalie Portman expresses her admiration for Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, and the entire team behind the MCU. Writer-director Taika Waititi returns for his second MCU picture, reuniting with Chris Hemsworth to explore Thor's midlife crisis post-Avengers: Endgame. Taking a leave of absence from his superhero duties, Thor sets off on a quest to discover inner peace, confronted by new enemies and teaming up with old friends along the way. To make matters even more complicated, Portman returns as Jane Foster, now carrying the mantle of the Mighty Thor, reigniting an old flame for the God of Thunder.
Embracing new styles of storytelling and allowing the MCU to evolve is one thing many fans feel saved Thor as a character. While the first Thor was a straightforward action movie, each film since then has shown a new side of the otherworldly being, with the most significant shift taking place in Waititi's 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok. Giving Hemsworth the freedom to play and incorporate off-beat humor into the character revived the hero for many fans, exemplifying Marvel's successful risk-taking approach.
Sitting down with Screen Rant for an exclusive interview, Portman expresses genuine praise and gratitude for Marvel's forward-thinking approach to embrace unique styles of telling these superhero stories. When she joined the franchise in Thor, Portman shares that no one knew how much of an impact the MCU would have on audiences. Since then, Marvel has grown immensely, in part due to the respect Feige and the studio give to their artists, and she notes that their willingness to take a chance has time and time again proven successful. Read her full response below:
It's really wild, because when we started, it was one of the first MCU movies. Iron Man, I think, had just come out and we were shortly thereafter. It felt big, but we didn't quite know how expansive, and I think it's really a testament to what Kevin Feige and his entire team have done with the Marvel Universe.
I think you see Marvel really treats creative collaborators with so much respect, and encourages and fosters all of this - yes, fosters - creativity that really allows people to do their [best].
Taika brought his entire imagination and self to these movies, and they benefit so much from that. I think they really understand how much the creative people bring to it.
Though she has not appeared significantly on screen in several years, Jane continues to be a point of contention for Thor who visibly cringes at the thought of their breakup, and is presumably not over his ex. Now, in similar fashion to Ragnarok, the film subverts expectations with the introduction of a stronger, taller Jane Foster wielding Mjolnir, who no longer needs the help of her ex to save the world. While most fans assumed there would be no future in which Portman would return, Waititi managed to convince her with his vision of an exciting new hero who stirs up romantic drama for the former couple.
While fans cannot imagine losing Thor, since he has became a highly beloved character, Thor: Love & Thunder may be Hemsworth's final film in the MCU. There are very few details known at this point about the future of Thor, but if Marvel continues seeking out creative individuals like Waititi, there may be a graceful way to say goodbye to the original Avenger and focus on new heroes in the future. Audiences only have a few days left before the worldwide release of Thor: Love & Thunder, and with cast members sharing only positive things about Marvel and Waititi's collaboration, fans should expect the unexpected with this film and prepare for anything to happen as Thor, Jane, and their team of friends race across the universe once more.
