After wondering, for many, many months, what would be coming for the MCU in Phase 4, Kevin Feige and crew finally gave us the answers at San Diego Comic-Con over the summer. And, while there were tons of cool surprises, none were quite so shocking as the reveal that Natalie Portman would be returning as Jane Foster to star as The Goddess of Thunder in Thor: Love and Thunder. While Portman appeared on stage and wielded Mjolnir as part of the announcement, it turns out that she wasn't as prepared for some of it as she thought she'd be.
Natalie Portman visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon recently to promote her new film, Lucy in the Sky, and after Fallon mentioned that he's always nervous when he shows up in an official capacity at Comic-Con, asked if she had any trepidation about being brought out on stage to reveal her new role as Mighty Thor. Well, it sounds like she was nervous, and that holding the hammer for the first time kind of took Portman aback.
It was nerve-racking, like someone’s gonna call me out about something. I didn’t get to practice [the hammer] ahead of time, so I picked it up and it was kind of heavy. It was like, ‘Oooh.’
So, wait. Thor's hammer is actually heavy? I mean, I understand that this isn't the olden days of movies, where they would just make the thing out of foam and call it a day, but it's heavy enough that Natalie Portman wishes she'd had a chance to practice holding it? She has kids, and I always hear parents complaining about how heavy those are. She wasn't prepared for Mjolnir just by lifting her own children? Wow...sounds like Portman really will have to get jacked just to successfully throw that hammer around on screen.
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi introduced Natalie Portman to the crowd at Comic-Con after Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, to really drive the surprise of her Jane Foster taking on the Thor mantle home. When Portman walked out, Waititi bowed and handed over Mjolnir, which she gladly took. But, in video of the moment, you can clearly see Portman attempting to lift the hammer over head and then stopping as she thinks better of it when she realizes that it's just too dang heavy for her right now.
Oh, well, at least Natalie Portman will have loads of time to workout, practice with Mjolnir and prepare for her official role as Thor. Love and Thunder isn't due in theaters until November 5, 2021, so she should be plenty ready for the physicality of wielding her Goddess of Thunder power by the time she has to start filming.
You can check out Natalie Portman's full interview with Jimmy Fallon below:
We have quite a while to wait until Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, but you can read up on what we know about the character, our thoughts on the MCU's Phase 4 and what movies are yet to come in 2019 in the meantime!
