For the past decade, Chris Hemsworth has portrayed Thor, the Norse god of thunder, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, Thor: Love and Thunder will feature the return of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, who will become the Mighty Thor as she did in the comics. Since he's no longer the only God of Thunder, the title of the fourth installment could be referring to Jane's Thor rather than the original Odinson.

In the source material, Thor Odinson became unworthy of Mjolnir following the events of the "Original Sin." He left the hammer on the moon where it called to a new owner, Jane, although her identity remained a secret. After a while, the original Thor came back to claim Mjolnir before he came to accept that the hammer had a new owner. Along with his blessing, he bestowed his own name upon her as a title and started to go simply by "Odinson."

RELATED: Thor: Love and Thunder Photos Reveal Yondu's Influence on a GotG Character

jane foster from thor

It's unclear just how closely Thor: Love and Thunder will follow this storyline, but there will likely be a few changes, especially considering Mjolnir was destroyed in Thor: Ragnarok. After all, Marvel doesn't usually make strictly faithful adaptations of their comics, letting them serve more as inspiration. Regardless of how or why Jane becomes the Goddess of Thunder, Thor probably won't be too happy about someone else taking his name and title. While he was surprised and even happy when Vision and Captain America wielded Mjolnir, neither hero had any intention of taking Thor's place.

One possibility is that they could both be called Thor. In the comics, there are multiple characters who have simultaneously shared mantles, such as Clint Barton and Kate Bishop both being called Hawkeye, or Peter Parker and Miles Morales both going by Spider-Man. Even so, this has yet to happen in the MCU, and it could get confusing for the audience. On the other hand, Thor could eventually give Jane permission to use his name and start going by something else. If that ends up being the case, the mystery will then be if he becomes Odinson like in the comics or ends up with a new moniker.

RELATED: Thor 4 Photo Reveals [SPOILER] Will Make Their MCU Debut

Since Thor was still worthy of wielding Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame, he might not want to take up the same name as his unworthy comic book counterpart. In fact, recently leaked set photos have some fans speculating that the God of Thunder could take up the mantle of another hero: Thunderstrike. In the photos, Hemsworth is wearing more casual attire, including jeans, a t-shirt and a red leather vest, one that is reminiscent of the attire worn by Eric Masterson in the comics.

Eric shares an interesting history with Thor. The two worked together at a construction site while the Norse god was disguised as a human. After going on multiple adventures together, Eric became the new God of Thunder when Thor was banished. After Thor returned, Odin gave Eric an Asgardian mace called Thunderstrike and he became his own superhero. Since Masterson has yet to appear in the MCU, perhaps Thor will be the one to get the mace and become the first on-screen Thunderstrike while Jane takes over as the title character.

Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillen as Nebula and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. The film arrives in theaters May 6, 2022.

KEEP READING: Thor 4: Love and Thunder - Every Actor & Character Confirmed for the MCU Sequel