Natalie Portman Will Be Known As "Mighty Thor" In 'Thor: Love And Thunder'

Natalie Portman is playing the Goddess of Thunder in Taika Waititi's upcoming sequel Thor: Love and Thunder – but how are fans supposed to distinguish between her version of Thor and Chris Hemsworth's version in casual conversation? Thankfully, Waititi has provided an answer: Portman's Jane Foster will be known as "Mighty Thor" in the new film.

Correction. She's called Mighty Thor.

— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) July 21, 2019

Because Portman's new version of Thor is going to be in the same movie as Chris Hemsworth's Thor, there have been a lot of sites (including us) that have used the term "female Thor" to simplify the distinction in headlines over the past few days. In the fan-favorite "Mighty Thor" comics run by Jason Aaron, Thor is no longer worthy to wield Mjolnir, so he becomes known as "Odinson" while Jane Foster takes over as Thor – but since all of that is too complicated to put in a headline, you've probably seen a rash of "Female Thor" and even "Lady Thor" terms thrown around.

Eventually in the comics, Thor and Odinson team up and fight together, but on the page, there is only one Thor at a time because only one person can be "worthy" at once. That's different than how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has treated the concept of being worthy; when Captain America memorably lifted Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame's climactic battle, it proved that more than one person could be worthy simultaneously in the films.

In the comics, Odinson eventually becomes Thor again and Jane's Goddess of Thunder has become the new Valkyrie, making things extra confusing. But thankfully we still have a while before we have to worry about any of that in the MCU. We'll have a much more in-depth primer on Jane Foster and her role as Thor on /Film soon, so stay tuned for that in the coming days. In the meantime, bow down before Natalie Portman's Mighty Thor...she's about to get jacked for the part, so don't call her "Lady Thor" to her face.

Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on November 5, 2021.