Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor was originally pitched for What If…?

The showrunner of Marvel’s What If…? wanted to use Jane Foster’s Thor for an episode of the show.

The Mighty Thor will make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut when Jane Foster wields Mjolnir in 2021’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Writer/director Taika Waititi was eager to use tackle the character, but he wasn’t the only person to inquire about her.

What If…? showrunner Ashely Bradley told Discussing Film that she wanted to use Jane Foster’s Thor but was surprised when the idea was shot down. This led her to believe Marvel was apprehensive about letting a woman be Thor:

"“We’re all big fans of the comics and we do use those to a degree. Our first weeks there I very strongly pitched doing The Mighty Thor- Jane Foster Thor. Jane wielding the hammer, I believe first happened in a What If comic. I was very poignantly told that was never going to happen. I got a little angry and thought, ‘Why, because they don’t want a woman holding the hammer?’.”"

However, her disappointment quickly turned into excitement when she discovered the true reason the Mighty Thor was off-limits to the show:

"“I was very politely told, ‘No we’re doing it’. I was like what? ‘We’re doing it in the movies. You can’t do it.’ I was like, seriously? They responded with, ‘Please don’t tell anyone. We’re with you on it, it’s an amazing idea. Taika Waititi wants to write it’. At that point, you just go ‘Then Taika Waititi can write it’!”"

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Mighty Thor first appeared in 2014’s Thor No. 1 shortly after the “Original Sin” story arc. In that story, Thor learned a secret from Nick Fury that caused him to become unworthy of Mjolnir. Foster, who was battling breast cancer at the time, soon picked up the hammer herself and became the Goddess of Thunder. During her tenure as Thor, Foster battled the likes of the Absorbing Man, Malekith the Accursed and the Destroyer. She even became one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in All-New All-Different Avengers.

Jane Foster’s Thor would have been a welcome addition to What If…?. As Bradley mentioned, the heroine’s ties to the comic book series made her a prime candidate. She’s also proven to be a fan-favorite with a wealth of story material to draw from.

Still, fans would probably prefer to see Mighty Thor in a big-screen MCU project as opposed to a television show. Bradley seems to have had big plans for the character, but Taika Waititi is sure to have plenty in store for her. What If…? hits Disney Plus in mid-2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder arrives in theaters on November 5, 2021.