Thor Ragnarok: What Happened To Jane Foster?

When Natalie Portman was brought on board to play the female lead of the Thor franchise back in 2009, surely she imagined that she'd have a more substantial role to play than what she ended up with. The 36-year-old actress signed a three picture deal at the time, and after the success of the first Thor film in 2011, things seemed to be running pretty smoothly for Portman and her character, Jane Foster. Initially introduced in the pages of Marvel Comics as a nurse, Foster later became a doctor before being diagnosed with cancer and subsequently taking up the mantle of the Thunder God for herself. The character's backstory was updated for her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, becoming a world-renowned astrophysicist and the first human that Odinson comes in contact with after being exiled on Earth. Portman had a pretty solid arc in Thor, so expectations were high for the sequel.Thor: The Dark World isn't anyone's favorite Marvel movie, but its decidedly 'meh' reception wasn't the driving force behind Portman's Jane Foster being sidelined (and eventually, all but written out) within the MCU. From what we can gather from various interviews and reports from pre-production, behind-the-scenes drama is solely to blame.

In the months that followed the release of the 2011 Thor movie, the folks behind the scenes scrambled to replace the departing Kenneth Branagh in the director's chair. Initially slotted for a fast tracked July 2013 release, directorial duties on the sequel were eventually handed to Patty Jenkins in October of 2011, a move that would have made her the first woman to helm a big budget superhero film. It's important to note here that Portman was already considering taking a break from acting around this time, in order to spend more time with her newborn son. Jenkins' hiring reportedly reinvigorated her interest in returning to the project, however, as the actress was very excited to work with the Monster director. The Dark World's release date was then changed to November 2013, and from the looks of things, all was well in Asgard once again.

Thor: The Dark Directorial Disaster

The Jenkins/Marvel marriage didn't last long, however. Less than two months after signing on, Jenkins was out as director on Thor's second solo adventure. The reported reasons for the split varied at the time, though they largely centered around the old "creative differences" stand-by that Tinseltown so often employs. A scoop from The Hollywood Reporter stated that Jenkins was dropped without warning, and that same article claimed that Portman was incensed over the matter. Her three picture deal left her obligated to return for the follow-up, but it seems as though this was the breaking point for the actress -- especially in terms of her relationship with Marvel Studios.

(Jenkins has since clarified why she didn't helm the Thor sequel while doing the promotional rounds for a little movie called Wonder Woman, saying she simply "wasn't the right director" for Marvel at the time. Admittedly, her Romeo & Juliet pitch is a bit out there.)

Okay, so Portman was not thrilled to see Jenkins leave -- but it could be argued that Jane Foster had a meatier role in The Dark World than she did in the first Thor by the time cameras finally started rolling. Possessed by the mysterious Aether (aka the Reality Stone), Jane and Odinson travel to Asgard and beyond as they look to remove the force from her and stop the never-all-that-threatening Malekith from destroying everything. It's a pretty generic comic book movie, all things considered, and increased screentime for Portman and Loki actor Tom Hiddleston did little to change that.

Portman's rocky relationship with Marvel was further illustrated when she declined to return for reshoots on the movie in the summer of 2013. She chalked it up to scheduling conflicts, saying she was too busy working on her own film at the time. (Remember the credits scene of Chris Hemsworth's Thor returning to Earth and kissing Jane? Hemsworth's wife, Elsa Pataky, served as Portman's stand-in there.) After The Dark World, Portman took a hiatus from the industry to work on her own smaller-scale projects. She didn't appear onscreen again until 2015.

-- Minor SPOILERS for Thor: Ragnarok lie ahead --

Unsurprisingly, a third entry into the God of Thunder's solo series wasn't exactly put on the fast track following the tepid response to The Dark World. Nearly two years passed before Thor: Ragnarok even locked down its director, Taika Waititi, and another two went by before the universe-traversing tale finally hit theaters. Portman's Jane Foster was MIA from the MCU during this time, only being mentioned in passing during a scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron. At no point during Ragnarok's production was the actress seemingly set to reprise her role, and Marvel president Kevin Feige confirmed that she wouldn't be returning in May of last year. When asked about Jane's future a few months later, Portman didn't seem too broken up by the idea that her MCU days were over.

Now that Ragnarok has finally landed in theaters, we can safely confirm that the decision to wipe the character slate clean with the Thor franchise (ditching the Warrior's Three, disregarding Jane, Darcy, and Dr. Selvig entirely) has resulted in what is far and away the best entry in the series. Perhaps the best new addition of all, in fact, is the film's new female lead Valkyrie, played by the outstandingly gifted Tessa Thompson. The booze-swilling, sword-swinging Asgardian is already a fan favorite, thanks in no small part to the fact that she's already received more characterization and depth than Jane Foster was ever granted.

It's not a coincidence that the best Thor flick to date features its most compelling leading lady yet. That said, some folks might not be thrilled with the unceremonious nature of Thor and Jane's offscreen break-up, which amounted to little more than a throwaway exchange between the Thunder God and his brother Loki during Ragnarok's first act. Meanwhile, Kevin Feige's comments on the matter -- "We wanted Thor to encounter somebody that was near his equal" -- feels like an unfair knock on the world's leading astrophysicist. Would Ragnarok's story have suffered if the writers were obligated to force the series' human characters into the proceedings? Sure, but the fact that this is the second time the MCU has broken up a couple offscreen (see: Tony Stark and Pepper Potts) presents more than a few questions regarding how disposable female characters are in Marvel's eyes.

From all indications, Jane Foster does not have a role to play in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Any chances of Jane getting a crack at taking on the Thor mantle for herself (as she's recently done in the comics) likely flew the coop when Portman did. Feige has nonetheless left the door open for a female Thor making her way onto the big screen at some point, and hey, they've even introduced a perfect candidate for the gig in Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie! But considering that it will have taken over a decade for the MCU to put out a female-led movie by the time Captain Marvel hits theaters in 2019...we wouldn't hold our breath.