Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi discusses bringing Natalie Portman back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In an interview with Fandango All Access, Waititi explained how he convinced the Thor star to return for the latest sequel. Waititi said, "I went to her house and she gave me a glass of water… I think that what we did with Ragnarok was, it made these movies appealing to other actors as well, like Christian [Bale] really he saw that and he was like, 'I want to do something fun,' and came here, wanted to be part of this thing." According to Waititi, Portman had a similar response.

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"I think that she was just wanting to make sure that… I don't even know how to say this, but… her character in those first few films, it's probably not the most exciting version of the female character that we want from these films…," he said. "I had to just talk to her about the fact that I wanted to change that character, just like we'd changed Thor's character for Ragnarok and to give her a bit more license to be adventurous and fun because Natalie's a really funny person. And sometimes… those sorts of things cannot… I don't know, they're not the main focus when they come up with characters and you know in films."

Portman first appeared in the MCU as Jane Foster in 2011's Thor and would go on to reprise the role for both 2013's Thor: The Dark World and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Though the character began as the titular God of Thunder's love interest much like her comic book counterpart, the two eventually parted ways as the in-universe explanation for her absence from 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. Not only is she set to reprise the role once again for the upcoming film, Love and Thunder will also see the MCU's Jane wield a reforged Mjolnir and take up the mantle of Thor for the first time on the silver screen. Portman chided franchise star Chris Hemsworth over this turn with the debut of her character poster for the upcoming film. "And you thought you were the one and only...," she wrote in the caption.

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Waititi has previously commented on the longevity of Portman's Thor, saying, "It's really fun, the idea that Thor got Stormbreaker, that big axe, and now his hammer's back and it's in the hands of someone else. It's no longer his hammer. It's the idea that someone's taking his place." He added, "I think a lot of fans are gonna potentially assume, 'Oh, OK, this is the passing on of the torch'... I'm not privy to any plans Marvel has for the future, but I don't think that's the case."

Thor: Love and Thunder is slated to mark the return of other fan favorites like the Guardians of the Galaxy as well. The film will also introduce Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, as well as Russell Crowe as Zeus, the latter of whom brings with him an entirely new pantheon of Greek gods.

Thor: Love and Thunder arrives in theaters on July 8.

Source: YouTube