Why Natalie Portman left the MCU, and why she came back for Thor

The teaser trailer for Natalie Portman’s movie was a great opportunity to make a lot of fans. Thor: Love & Thunder role as the god of thunder, and for close followers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thor franchise, there was no doubt about who was behind that shiny helm. The answer might be harder for others.

Beyond her “appearance” in Avengers: Endgame (a cameo comprising some brief voice work and repurposed footage), Portman hasn’t had a major role in the MCU since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. She was nowhere to be found in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, the Taika Waititi film that gave the MCU’s Asgardian setting its first unabashed critical success.

So, why did she go? Why did she leave? Marvel may have left her and now is playing catch up.

Reportedly, Portman’s first attempts to extricate herself from the Marvel Cinematic Universe began during the first stages of producing a sequel to ThorWhen she considered taking a long break from acting in order to have more time with her newborn child (born in 2011), According to industry reporting at the time, Marvel sweetened the deal by including Portman — already a director with aspirations to do more — in the process of choosing the film’s director.

Marvel reached an agreement with Patty Jenkins in which they would make the film. MonsterDirector of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first female film director. And Portman — an activist, an advocate for increased diversity in Hollywood, and a woman who had spoken publicly and eloquently on the ways in which female characters are boxed in by male-dominated cinema — was energized by helping bring about that first.

But only a few months later, Marvel and Jenkins parted ways, citing “creative differences” even though the project had yet to settle on a script. Marvel replaced Jenkins — who would go on to plant her flag in the realm of cinematic superheroes with the hugely successful Wonder Woman — with Alan Taylor (Terminator Genisys).

Anna Boden, the first MCU female co-director would have to take six additional years.Captain MarvelCate Shortland will be the first woman to serve as the sole director of a MCU movie with eight directors. Black Widow. If Jenkins had gotten the job, she would still — and for the foreseeable future — be the only woman to direct a Marvel Cinematic Universe film about a male superhero.

2016: Thor: Ragnarok Portman spoke to the newspaper after a few months of principle photography. Wall Street JournalMarvel did not have any plans to make her character a new one. “As far as I know I’m done. I mean, I don’t know if maybe one day they’ll ask for an ‘Avengers 7,’ I have no idea. But as far as I know I’m done; it was a great thing to be a part of.”

Which is precisely what made Portman’s appearance in Marvel’s Hall H presentation during San Diego Comic-Con 2019 so surprising: There had been absolutely no indication that either she or Marvel Studios was interested in renewing their relationship to that degree.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Disney

Taika Waititi, the director who made her come back to life seems to be responsible for it. It is not true Ragnarok, which was scripted by a trio of Marvel Studios’ stable writers before it entered its directorial search, Love & Thunder’s story comes straight from Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Sweet/Vicious, Hawkeye). Waititi credits that story and Jane Foster’s expanded role in it for bringing Jane Foster onboard.

“I just said to her, ‘Are you interested in coming back to this thing, but doing something really different?’” he told Variety in 2019. “No one wants to keep repeating themselves […] In most of these films, if you’re not a superhero — do you really want to keep doing that? I mean, I wouldn’t. I would want to come back and change things up.”

Portman seems to concur, telling ET Online that “upon seeing the script and new role for Jane: I was like ‘This is very exciting!’ And also with Taika [attached], and I love Tessa and Chris so much, so it’s exciting to get to work with them again.”

You can respond to Thor: Love & Thunder’s teaser, it’s safe to say a lot of other people find it exciting too.