Natalie Portman Shares Her Mighty Workout Regimen For Thor: Love And Thunder

Natalie Portman's Jane Foster has been missing from the MCU for a couple of movies now. This was explained away as the result of a breakup between her and the Asgardian God, Thor (Chris Hemsworth). But our days of missing the badass astrophysicist are finally drawing to a close. Jane is slated to make her return in "Thor: Love and Thunder," where she might look a little different than fans remember.

The last time we saw Jane, she was just a normal human genius (minus a brief period where the liquified Reality Stone used her body as a host). Most of her onscreen time was dedicated to scientific discoveries and her relationships with Thor. You might think that her reappearance is a chance to explain what went down between the couple, but there's a pretty good chance that romance is just a footnote in Jane's new arc. Not many plot details have been revealed, but we do know that "Thor: Love and Thunder" will be the MCU debut of Jane as the Mighty Thor, loosely adapting a storyline from recent Thor comics. 

Jane's about to be very busy with a brand new set of superpowers!

As we all know, wielding Mjölnir is no simple task. So far it's only been done by an actual God, the famously righteous Steve Rogers, and literal lab creation Vision. Jane is next on the docket, and it turns out Natalie Portman had to do some pretty intensive training to get the mythic hammer upright. Portman told Vanity Fair the details of her workout regimen, which indicates that Jane's transformation involves some serious bulking up. Portman said,

"I worked with a trainer, Naomi Pendergast, for, I think it was, four months before shooting, and then obviously all the way through filming. We did a lot of weight training and a lot of protein shakes — heavyweight training that I haven't ever done before. Of course, I've never really aimed to get bulky. It was very physical, so it was a lot of both agility work and also strength work."

Portman's not new to physically demanding roles: playing a ballerina in "Black Swan" meant plenty of endurance exercise and difficult training. But whatever the role, she shared that undergoing intense training always helps her get into character. The physical transformation is a huge part of that. Portman added:

"It definitely helps you get into character, and it's definitely changed the way I move. You walk differently; you feel different. I mean, it's so wild to feel strong for the first time in my life."

For years the MCU has been all about buff men smashing villains with their hammers and breaking logs in half with their bare hands. But now it's time to flush all that tough-guy stuff down the drain and focus on women!

I mean, not really. Obviously, Marvel still has a lot of work to do in that regard. But still, the Marvel universe is expanding and making more room for a new wave of heroes. Who's to say how long we'll actually have with this buff, Thunder Goddess Jane Foster? But I look forward to enjoying her while we can.

You might remember that very contentious "Avengers: Endgame" scene that brought the MCU women together to save itty bitty Peter Parker. Lots of fans thought it felt too try-hard and performative, but maybe if these movies actually deliver on giving characters like Jane room to grow, it'll start to feel more earned. We don't really know what to expect from her role in the upcoming Thor movie, but given it's another Taika Waititi venture, we can expect Portman's character to have plenty of fun. Best of all, she'll be doing it alongside Tessa Thompson's badass warrior Valkyrie and Karen Gillan's slowly softening Nebula. 

Oh yeah, and that Thor guy will be there too.