Natalie Portman and Takia Waititi address whether or not Thor: Love and Thunder will adapt Jane Foster's pivotal Mighty Thor cancer arc. Following her absence from 2017's Thor: Ragnarok and a brief cameo in Avengers: Endgame, Portman's astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster makes a dramatic return in Thor: Love and Thunder. Portman decided to depart the franchise after 2013's Thor: The Dark World due to dissatisfaction with her character's arc. Waititi, who has reinvigorated Marvel's Thor series with his own signature flair, was ultimately able to convince Portman to return by promising a more substantial story arc for Jane.
Chris Hemsworth's fourth solo outing as Thor finds the titular Norse god putting his superhero-ing days behind him in an attempt to find inner peace, but is soon pulled back in due to the emergence of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) who announces his intentions to eliminate all gods. To stop Gorr, Thor must recruit old allies such as Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (voiced by Waititi), and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who has gained a Thor-esque costume and powers while wielding a reconstructed Mjolnir. For this storyline, Waititi clearly drew from Jason Aaron's Mighty Thor comics, though there has long been questions about whether or not the film will adapt one major aspect of Jane's journey.
During a recent interview with Variety, Portman and Waititi both addressed whether or not Thor: Love and Thunder will adapt Jane Foster's cancer storyline. To avoid giving away spoilers, Portman gave a vague non-revealing answer about the "duality" of Jane versus the Mighty Thor and how becoming a superhero "might give you a different perspective on your human life." Waititi's response was slightly more revealing, saying, "Part of why [Natalie] wanted to play that character is that she has a dilemma in the book" and that Jane "has big choices to make within the comic," which he and his collaborators "were all very interested" in exploring in the film.
In the comics, Jane is diagnosed with breast cancer and begins to undergo chemotherapy. However, her transformation into the Mighty Thor and her wielding Mjolnir purges all toxins from her body, including the chemotherapy that is treating her cancer. Therefore, being a superhero is effectively killing Jane. Thus, she is presented with a difficult dilemma – continue using her powers and risk becoming sicker, or hang up her hammer for good. This, in all likelihood, is the "big choice" Waititi is referring to.
Ever since it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 that Portman would be returning as the Mighty Thor, Waititi has been asked about the prospect of Love and Thunder adapting Jane's cancer storyline. He's successfully dodged the question just about every time, though his recent comments are about as close as he can get to confirming it while still abiding by Marvel's strict standards for secrecy. It looks like fans will have to wait for Thor: Love and Thunder to hit theaters on July 8 to find out for sure.
Source: Variety
