Thor 4: What happens to Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder?

One of the most exciting aspects of Thor: Love and Thunder is the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, whose last starring role in the MCU was in Thor: The Dark World (2013).

The film, directed by Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi, gives Jane a more fantastical spin by turning her into Mighty Thor after she bonds with Mjolnir, which was destroyed by Hela, the Goddess of Death, in Ragnarok.

In the comics, Jane Foster becomes Mighty Thor after being diagnosed with cancer. Marvel Studios kept the character’s storyline in Love and Thunder under wraps until its release. As such, fans wondered whether the movie would adapt Jane’s condition, and if it would, what the hero’s fate in the film would be.

MAJOR spoilers ahead for Thor: Love and Thunder.

Now that Love and Thunder has been released, we have an answer. Let’s break down what happens to Jane Foster in Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) fourth solo adventure, and whether or not she could have a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Does Jane die in Thor: Love and Thunder?

Thor: Love and Thunder shows Jane battling cancer. Struggling to find a cure, she seeks out Mjolnir, which is part of a tourist exhibit in New Asgard. Once there, Mjolnir bonds with her, turning her into The Mighty Thor.

As Mighty Thor, Jane is no longer affected by cancer, but there’s a catch to her abilities. Every time she turns back into a human, her condition worsens. Regardless, she teams up with Thor to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) — an individual possessed by the god-killing weapon known as the Necrosword — from murdering all deities in the universe, which he plans to accomplish by wishing for it to a cosmic creature known as Eternity, the embodiment of the universe.

Thor learns of Jane’s condition and pleads with her to stop using Mjolnir so she can get better. She agrees, and says goodbye to Thor before he sets off to find Gorr for their final confrontation.

Thor finds the God Butcher trying to free Eternity through Stormbreaker. Unfortunately, Gorr proves to be stronger than the God of Thunder, and quickly overpowers him. Back on Earth, Jane senses Thor’s plight. She transforms into the Mighty Thor and travels to Eternity’s off-world location.

There, she uses Mjolnir to destroy the Necrosword — the only way to defeat Gorr. The villain finds Eternity, but instead of wishing for the gods’ demise, he wishes for his daughter to be brought back to life (she died at the beginning of the movie). Using Mjolnir to destroy Gorr’s weapon de-powers Jane back to her human form, making her too ill to survive.

Jane tells Thor she loves him and makes him promise to take care of Gorr’s daughter (given that the God Butcher was about to die) before fading away in a cloud of golden mist.

This seems to be the end of Jane, but the film has one surprise left…

Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scene explained

Jane’s story continues in arguably one of the most emotional MCU post-credits scene yet; a significant accomplishment considering the franchise’s longevity. The sequence shows Jane arriving at a mysterious location, where she’s greeted by Heimdall (Idris Elba).

He tells her she is in Valhalla, a paradise afterlife for Asgardian warriors and gods, and confirms to her that she is dead. Heimdall welcomes her to her resting place, as Jane excitedly stares at her new home.

Could Jane come back in the MCU after Thor: Love and Thunder?

Mighty Thor’s demise appears to be definitive. After all, it seems to be the happy ending few crimefighters in the MCU get to have. Having said that, could the hero return at some point down the line? Well, there’s a possibility, mainly because there’s precedent for that in the comics.

Jane became the Mighty Thor in 2014, but her time under that heroic identity was relatively brief.

In 2018, the comics saw her meet a similar demise (concept-wise, at least) to her movie counterpart. During a confrontation with a creature known as Mangog, who was trying to destroy the city of Asgardia at the time, Jane sacrificed Mjolnir to defeat the monster, giving up her life in the process (“Mighty Thor” Vol. 2 #705).

The hero was then revived by Odin and Thor, after which she gradually beat cancer and ultimately became a Valkyrie.

Using a comic book as a template for something that could happen in a film is not always ideal — superhero movies tend to take many liberties with their source material. With that said, there could be something pointing to Jane’s revival in the movies not being as out-there as it seems.

Could Valkyrie save Jane in the MCU?

In a 2022 interview with W Magazine, Valkyrie actress Tessa Thompson stated her character’s powers were (among others) the ability to take the dead to Valhalla and to revive people:

"“She has weird skills, to be honest. She can sense when someone is close to death, and she takes them into Valhalla, which is essentially the afterlife. She can revive people. But when she revives people, sometimes she ends up in their body. It’s a weird thing. It can be quite erotic. And then she has superhuman strength and is essentially God.”"

It’s worth noting that two of the abilities she mentioned — sensing death and taking deceased individuals to the realm of the dead — are attributes of the comic book Valkyrie. However, the description doesn’t fully line up with that version.

So, assuming the actress wasn’t joking or referring to the printed-page take on Valkyrie, all of the abilities she mentioned (aside from her strength) were absent from Love and Thunder, which may hint at them being left on the cutting-room floor — Natalie Portman told IndieWire that a lot of story elements were cut from the final version of the movie.

Cut material from films is not guaranteed to be re-used for future entries, but there is a possibility, however minuscule it may be, that the powers discussed by Thompson become MCU canon at some point (again, if they were indeed left out of Love and Thunder).

If that’s the case, it could technically, and we must stress, this is heavy speculation, be possible for Valkyrie to bring Jane back into the world of the living.

Realistically speaking, though, for now, this was probably Marvel Studios’ way of taking Jane on an emotionally rich journey from superhero to her final resting place. With her last scene with Thor being as touching as it was, it’s difficult to imagine she will be brought back to life anytime soon.

However, we should ultimately wait and see how things develop in the MCU to know for sure whether or not Marvel has any plans in store for Jane Foster.

A title card at the end of the second post-credits scene read, “Thor Will Return,“ which tells us we’ll get a better idea of where the Thor franchise is going sooner rather than later.

Thor: Love and Thunder is now available in theaters.

What do you think about Jane’s journey in Love and Thunder? Let us know in the comments!