Thor: Love and Thunder just hit theatres. And after sitting out through half of Phase 2 and most of Phase 3, Jane Foster has finally made her triumphant return in MCU’s extensive Phase 4. Thor: Love and Thunder has got some middling reviews as apparently, everyone is not falling in love with this movie. But besides Thor, Valkyrie, and Korg, the positives out of this film are Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher, And Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, aka the Mighty Thor! But people are left asking this question – Will Jane Foster Return in Thor 5?
Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen Thor: Love and Thunder.
When Jane’s return was announced back in Comic Con 2019, you may have thought that she would become an MCU regular as the Mighty Thor. We would have two Thors. One could continue to be a space Viking while the other could be Thor on Earth. But fans were worried ever since we learned that Jane’s cancer arc will play a crucial role in the MCU. And guess what, they were right to be worried.
In the comics, there was a time when Thor became unworthy. And during this time, Jane was suffering from cancer. But she thought that the world needed a Thor, so she tried to wield the hammer herself and proved to be worthy of it. But then she found out that becoming Thor took so much energy that it was undoing all the treatment she got from her chemo. She was dying rapidly. And that’s what turned out to be the case in Thor 4 as well. Jane’s turn into The Mighty Thor was killing her. But she still chose to be Thor in order to save the Asgardian children and all the Gods of the Universe. And that’s the beauty of her character.
After Thor: The Dark World, Natalie Portman was out and probably didn’t want to return. She was nowhere to be seen in Ragnarok. But then Taika convinced her to be back and actually wield Mjolnir this time. So this promotion in her role is probably what got her back. But apparently, Portman did not agree to come back and be an MCU regular. She came back because finally, Jane Foster’s character was put on a pedestal and sent off to Valhalla!
Yes! At the end of the day, she was the star of Thor 4. She was the one to destroy the All Black Necrosword and she helped Thor in convincing Gorr to choose Love over revenge. She wasn’t just a supporting love interest anymore. She got to be a hero in the true sense. And after her massive sacrifice, she was welcomed into Valhalla. Her demise was similar to Odin and Frigga as those two also turned into glowing dust when they died. This ending was foreshadowed right from the beginning as Jane was always going to die because of her cancer. And Valkyrie even suggested that since she became a Thor, she could now die in battle and end up in Valhalla. And that’s what happened as she appeared in the afterlife and met Heimdall straightaway.
He thanked her for saving his son Axl. And now he would guide her further into the great halls where she might feast with Odin and other Asgardian warriors. But with this ending, people were left asking whether Jane could return. You see, if Marvel wants her to return, then they could follow what happened in the comics. Over there, when Jane died in a similar fashion during her cancer arc, Thor refused to accept that she was gone. He used the power of Mjolnir and at the same time, Odin made some efforts from Valhalla to allow Jane to come back to life.
Jane returned and became a Valkyrie! She continued to fight for good. And since MCU’s Valkyrie called Jane a sister of hers, maybe this could be a future that we get to witness. After all, Valhalla is also known to be a place for warriors to wait after death until they return to fight at the end of the world. So the likes of Jane and Heimdall could be waiting to return. But I don’t think that Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster would return after this one. She came back one last time to say goodbye to her character and give something special to the MCU fans.
This ending would be as sacred for her as Logan’s ending was for Hugh Jackman. And besides, it seemed like Thor had accepted Jane’s demise. He was okay with it, and he had found a new love who very much came to life because of Jane’s efforts. So he won’t go back to seek the love of Jane Foster. Her presence in Valhalla should be permanent and we should not expect to see the return of Natalie Portman or even Idris Elba in the MCU. Their story is done. Meanwhile, Thor will continue his journey with the next generation heroes like Love, and perhaps even Heimdall’s son Axl. And who knows, he might get help from someone like Beta Ray Bill when Hercules comes after him in Thor 5.
I guess we’ll see about that. What do you think? Will Jane Foster return in Thor 5? Let us know in the comments section.
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