Thor 4: How does Jane Foster become Mighty Thor?

Jane Foster wields Mjolnir in the trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, confirming she will follow in her comic book counterpart’s destiny as Mighty Thor. How does it happen?

One of the most exciting aspects of Thor: Love and Thunder throughout all of this time has been the upcoming return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. Originally appearing in Thor back in 2011, the astrophysicist became the love of the God of Thunder’s life, and Portman reprised the role in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World.

In the latter film, the character was infected by the Aether, a mist-like form of the Reality Stone. She was freed from its grip and reunited with Thor, but she did not return in the 2017 sequel Ragnarok, which confirmed the pair had broken up. However, she will be back in the upcoming fourth movie in the franchise.

If you weren’t keeping up with the news, updates and rumors revolving around the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, the experience of watching either the first or second trailer might have been an odd one, as Jane reappeared clad in Asgardian armor and wielding the hammer known as Mjolnir. That is because the character is set to walk a path similar to her comic book counterpart and become the Mighty Thor.

How will that happen in the MCU?

How Jane Foster becomes Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder

In the Marvel comic books, Jane Foster undergoes chemotherapy to battle breast cancer. As she does so, Thor apparently becomes less worthy as he can no longer wield the hammer. Mjolnir then finds a new champion, and selects Jane, who in spite of her battle with cancer, gains the ability to wield the hammer and protect those around her.

While Marvel Studios has yet to confirm if the MCU adaptation will pan out similarly, it does sound like it will be heavily inspired by it. An officially-licensed Marvel product features a description of the film, confirming that Jane will also be battling cancer in Thor: Love and Thunder. It reads:

"Suffering from cancer, astrophysicist and Thor’s ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster, visited New Asgard and her life was changed forever. Mysteriously, the broken pieces of Mjolnir, the hammer of the thunder god, transformed her into the Mighty Thor and gifted her the superpowers of Thor, to battle threats internal and external. Wielding Mjolnir herself, she had become a godly protector and a new hero was born!With the help of Thor, Valkyrie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Mighty Thor was faced by the powerful Gorr, the God Butcher. With divine powers himself, Gorr was driven to rid the universe of gods wherever he found them. Battling cancer in her human form and Gorr in her godly form, Jane Foster was embroiled in an epic struggle with plenty of love and thunder!"

From that, it’s pretty clear that Love and Thunder will feature an authentic and close adaptation of Mighty Thor’s origin story. Could her experience with the Aether have resulted in her developing cancer in the MCU?

It definitely sounds like Love and Thunder will be an emotional and powerful film for Natalie Portman’s character.

Thor: Love and Thunder will arrive in movie theaters on July 8, 2022.