'Thor: Love And Thunder': Chris Hemsworth Will Pass The Title Of Thor Over To Natalie Portman In New Film

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Marvel generally tries to save secrets for their own announcements, and you can usually tell when one’s been blown out of the water: something leaks just shortly before San Diego Comic-Con. In years past, the would-be surprise was the recasting of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk that was going to be saved for an onstage announcement in Hall H. This year, it was the news and leak of a “Thor 4,” film with Chris Hemsworth returning as the god of thunder and beloved “Thor: Ragnarok” filmmaker Taika Waititi returning as writer/director.

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Today, on stage in San Diego in Hall H, Kevin Feige and Chris Hemsworth confirmed the “Thor 4” news and the film is scheduled to arrive November 5, 2021. But oh, the details  don’t end there.

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We all knew that “Thor 4” would be an absolutely godawful title, so Marvel Studios has announced the film will go by “Thor: Love and Thunder” (complete with another incredible fantasy/rock-inspired logo). Not only that, the film will see the return of Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), and none other than Natalie Portman. That’s right, Jane Foster is back. Oh, and Marvel revealed that not only is Portman returning, but she will become the new Mighty Thor, Goddess of Thunder.

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If you’re confused by this news, then you’re likely not familiar with the recent comic book series that featured Jane Foster becoming the new Thor after she lifted the mystical hammer. The trick about the comic book story is that Jane Foster became Thor to help battle cancer, as she was diagnosed with the terminal illness but was free of the complications when she became Thor. It’s well worth a read, if you want to know more.

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Waititi essentially rebooted the ‘Thor’ franchise mid-stream, injecting great streams of comedy and adding a kind of childish, man-baby element to Thor—which worked wonderfully alongside the toddler-ish Hulk of ‘Ragnarok.’ But it wasn’t all jokes. Waititi really went for it, blowing up the franchise, and simultaneously introducing the idea of great loss and tragedy to Thor’s story; having him lose his father Odin, his eye, his Mjölnir hammer and all of Asgard.

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This thread, about major trauma, loss, and eventually grief, was greatly exploited by the Russo Brothers, who leaned into both comedy and tragedy and created a terrific arc for Thor in both “Avenger: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” There’s of course, no word of whether the Thor of ‘Love and Thunder’ will go back to his ripped self or stay Thicc Thor/Dadbod Thor, but clearly there’s no undoing all the pain and anguish he suffered in both films, especially feeling as if he failed Earth after the events of ‘Infinity War.’

READ MORE: Chris Hemsworth Says He Was “Exhausted” & “Underwhelmed” By Pre-‘Ragnarok’ Thor Appearances

And of course, we won’t know whether Thor is part of “Guardians Of the Galaxy Volume 3” or not; many have been much anticipating an Asgardians Of The Galaxy film given where ‘Endgame’ left off and the Norse God joining the team on their ship. But given ‘Love & Thunder’ comes before ‘Guardians 3’ (only briefly teased tonight), and Thor is seemingly giving up the mantle, it’s very unlikely. Hopefully, Korg and Miek return too.

More info when we have it, but in the meantime, check out the logo and photos from Comic-Con.