Why Natalie Portman left the Thor franchise

Natalie Portman returns as Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder but why did she leave the role of Jane Foster in the first place?

Natalie Portman makes a mighty return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor: Love and Thunder when she brings Jane Foster back to screens for the first time in almost a decade. But this time, Jane will be evolving into the Mighty Thor, becoming the hero that her comic book counterpart is known for.

Portman initially played the role in the first two Thor movies, introducing the world to astrophysicist Jane after she crosses paths with Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder. The two quickly fall in love as Jane teaches the future Avenger about the beauty of humanity. She reprised her role for the first sequel but was mysteriously absent from the Avengers movies and second sequel Thor: Ragnarok.

It’s been nine long years since we’ve seen Jane in the MCU (excluding old footage used in Avengers: Endgame) and fans can’t wait to see her back – or to wield the hammer. But why has it taken so long to see her again?

Why did Natalie Portman leave the Thor movies?

We last saw Jane Foster in the post-credits scene of 2013’s Thor: The Dark World when the God of Thunder returned to Earth to be with his one true love. However, when we caught up with him in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, he somewhat casually revealed that he and Jane had broken up off-screen. And that didn’t sit right with fans given how important the Thor and Jane romance is in the comics.

Why Natalie Portman wasn’t in the sequel has often been the subject of speculation. While it wouldn’t have made as much sense to include her in Ragnarok given that most of it was set in space, the decision to break the pair up was heavily questioned. Was there more to it?

It may have something to do with the fact that Patty Jenkins was initially supposed to direct The Dark World, much to Portman’s excitement. However, the director then parted ways with Marvel Studios due to creative differences, which reportedly left the star feeling “deeply unhappy”.

Moreover, the sequel itself is widely regarded as one of the MCU’s weaker films, with much criticism being aimed at its treatment of Jane, with fans feeling that her role very much falls into “damsel in distress” territory.

Whether or not that had anything to do with Portman’s absence in the third movie remains unknown, but the star maintained she was always open to returning in a future film. And even though she didn’t film new scenes for Endgame, she did provide some voice-over and showed up to the film’s premiere.

Natalie Portman becomes Mighty Thor in her long-awaited return

The moment that Jane Foster fans were waiting for finally came to fruition when Ragnarok director Taika Waititi revealed that Natalie Portman would reprise her role in his upcoming sequel Thor: Love and Thunder. Even better, she would be portraying the character as she evolves into her comic book counterpart, Mighty Thor.

As wonderful a character as Jane Foster was, there was always the criticism that the first two films in the franchise struggled to do anything with her outside of making her a love interest. For that reason, it’s exciting to see Jane wield Mjolnir as the mighty one, and that could be what appealed to Portman, as the character finally gets the chance to live up to her potential.

It goes without saying that fans are thrilled to see her back in the role, and we can’t wait to see Jane in action when Thor: Love and Thunder hits movie theaters!

Are you looking forward to seeing Jane Foster back in Thor: Love and Thunder? Let us know in the comments below!