Natalie Portman Returns! Everything to Know About ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ So Far

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Natalie Portman Returns! Everything to Know About 'Thor: Love and Thunder' So Far

The last original Avenger returns. Thor is the only surviving member of Earth's mightiest heroes who hasn't been seen since Avengers: Endgame, but that'll change with the release of summer's Thor: Love and Thunder. Taika Waititi, who directed the beloved Thor: Ragnarok in 2017, returns to helm the fourth movie for the God of Thunder, which stars Chris Hemsworth alongside some familiar faces. After defeating Thanos, Thor left with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the first trailer, released in April, reveals that he'll still be tagging along with Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) when the new movie starts. A brief scene shows Thor as he was physically when Endgame left off, but not for long as the Asgardian does some training with massive chains, which seems to help him work off his depression weight. The beer gut is traded for his six-pack abs, his dreadlocks are swapped for his flowing Fabio-like mane and all that's left of his overgrown beard is a reasonable amount of facial hair. He finds his old look quickly, at least according to the trailer, but Thor will have to leave the Guardians behind if he wants to truly find himself. [jwplayer Y5fOC6TJ-zhNYySv2] According to Marvel Studios' official synopsis, Thor is "on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced — a quest for inner peace," which doesn't exactly go smoothly. Though he claims he has retired from being a hero, following in the steps of his fellow Avenger Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor's plans to retire a dashed by the arrival of a new villain. "His retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods," the official description continues. "To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who — to Thor’s surprise — inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor." While Valkyrie and Korg were introduced in Ragnarok, Jane hasn't been seen since 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Her return was one of the biggest surprises from San Diego Comic Con 2019. "They came to me with the idea and said, 'We have this idea for you that was a storyline in some of the comics where Jane becomes Lady Thor,' and I was like, 'This is very exciting!'" Portman told Entertainment Tonight in September 2021. Scroll down to find out everything we know so far about Thor: Love and Thunder! [podcast_block]

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Does 'Thor: Love and Thunder' Have a Release Date?

The fourth Thor flick will debut in theaters on Friday, July 8. Expect some early preview showings on Thursday, July 7. That's just two months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hit theaters on May 6 and one month after Ms. Marvel debuted on Disney+, which are also part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Who Is Returning for 'Thor: Love and Thunder'?

In addition to Hemsworth, Portman, Thompson and Waititi, there will be quite a few Guardians of the Galaxy stars sharing the screen, including Pratt, Gillan, Bautista and Klementieff. Jaimie Alexander will return as Lady Sif, and Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth will reprise their cameo roles as actors playing Loki and Thor, respectively, in an Asgardian theatrical group. Sam Neil will also return as the actor playing Odin in a play.

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Who Are the New Cast Members?

Melissa McCarthy will join the action film as a thespian portraying Hela. The real Hela was portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Thor: Ragnarok, but the villain died when Asgard (Thor's home planet) was destroyed in the 2017 flick.

Other new cast members include Bale as the god-killing villain and Russell Crowe, who confirmed he will play Zeus in the sequel. McCarthy's husband, Ben Falcone, was spotted filming alongside his wife, and singer Jenny Morris is also confirmed to be in the film.

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Who Is the Mighty Thor?

That is astrophysicist Jane Foster, the same woman who dumped Thor off screen shortly before the events of Ragnarok. The Love and Thunder trailer shows her wielding a reconstructed Mjölnir, Thor's magical hammer, which was previously destroyed by Thanos. It isn't clear how Jane became the Mighty Thor, but it's worth noting that the comics first showed Jane taking over the mantle in a What If spinoff, a story set in a different universe. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is expected to take inspiration from the What If comics and have wide-ranging effects on the entire MCU.

Also, she's not Female Thor or Lady Thor. Waititi confirmed via Twitter in July 2019 that Portman's character name doesn't reference her gender. "Correction. She's called Mighty Thor," he wrote at the time.

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How Is Jane Different?

Jane and Thor have been separated for “about eight years,” Waititi told Empire in an interview published in May 2022. “She’s had a whole other life, and then the love of your life comes back on the scene, and is now dressed like you. It’s a real mindf--k for Thor.”

Jane isn't just dressed like Thor. She'll be "part of the adventure," the director promised, and Portman will get to show off her comedic chops. “Natalie’s really funny in real life,” Waititi shared. “She’s kind of goofy and has got a great sense of humor, and I don’t think that was exploited enough in the first films.”

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'One of the Best' Marvel Villains Ever

Waititi told Entertainment Weekly in May 2022 that Bale's "very formidable" Gorr the God Butcher is "probably one of the best villains that Marvel's had in their films."

The director added, "He's very layered."

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Why Is Thor Naked?

In the second trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, released in late May, it's clear that Thor still has feelings for Jane, who is more focused on getting the hang of her new powers. They find themselves facing Gorr the God Butcher together, but he isn't their only problem.

Thor gets dragged into an arena in golden chains, and Crowe's character says they're going to take off his disguise. With a magical flick of his wrist, Thor is suddenly naked in front of hundreds of spectators. "You flicked too hard!" Thor yells.

"Should we help him?" Jane asks Valkyrie, who keeps eating her grapes and says they'll interfere "eventually."

There's good news for parents taking the kids to the PG-13 movie (and bad news for those only going for Hemsworth nudity): Us Weekly can confirm that the au naturel shot lasts roughly two seconds, and the more interesting part of the hilarious scene are Thor's new tattoos.

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What Genre Is 'Thor: Love and Thunder'?

"There is love in this film across the board," Hemsworth said in a June interview with Fandango.

Thompson added, "It's the loviest Marvel movie in the history of Marvel movies."

Waititi, meanwhile, chimed in to explain that he wanted to "run headfirst into the romance" and make the story "satisfy" fans of romantic comedies and dramedies.

When asked about his influences for the fourth Thor film, Waititi revealed that he loves the classic rom-coms. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is great. 10 Things I Hate About You is also a good film. Clueless is my favorite, I'd say. Oh no, these are just movies I like," Waititi joked.

He continued: "I was thinking about things [when writing the script] like, An Officer and a Gentleman. Like, particularly the end scene where he comes in and sweeps her off her feet. ... I guess the influences for me were just really big over-the-top romances."

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What Can Fans Expect?

"This film is — how can I put it? It's one of the craziest things, if not the craziest thing, [director Taika Waititi] has ever made. I think it's the most insane thing I've been a part of," Hemsworth told Entertainment Tonight in June 2022. "It's wacky, it's wild, it's fun, just like Thor: Ragnarok was, but we now have a beautiful love story at the center of it."

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How Does Chris Hemsworth Feel About Showing His Naked Butt on Camera?

“It was 10 years in the making that scene — kind of a dream of mine,” Hemsworth told Variety in June 2022 at the movie’s premiere. “The first time I played Thor I took my shirt off and I thought, ‘You know what’s gonna sweeten this …  a decade from now, it’s all gonna come off.”

He added: “I had had that out in Rush many years ago. In a Marvel film, it was a very large screen, it was a very big pair of cheeks, and, I don’t know, I had seen it before.”

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Will the Avengers Make a Cameo?

After he says goodbye to the Guardians of the Galaxy, as shown in the trailer, Thor crosses paths with Jane and Valkyrie, making this movie jam-packed with reunions. However, he won't be catching up with Hawkeye, the Hulk or any of his Avengers pals. However, there are a couple of familiar faces making memorable cameo appearances.

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Will There Be Mid-Credits or Post-Credits Scenes?

Both! First, there will be a tag after the stylized credits — and it will make fans super excited for what's next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then, after all of the plain black-and-white credits have finished, there will be one final end-credits scene that audiences will want to make sure they don't miss.

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How Does 'Thor: Love and Thunder' End?

You might want to bring some tissues. That's all we can say without Marvel coming after Us.