Natalie Portman has been in NYC this week to promote her feature-length directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness. While she’s been talking up that film, she did get some awkward questions about her very quiet exit from Marvel’s Thor franchise. I don’t know if Natalie was only contracted for two Marvel films, but that’s not usually the way Marvel sets up their contracts, so I have my doubts. Whatever happened, Portman is out. We learned that back in April, when Portman wasn’t included in the cast announcements for Thor: Ragnarok, and Marvel said Thor was getting a new love interest played by Tess Thompson. When the Wall Street Journal asked Portman this week about her involvement with Marvel, she seemed to brush it off.
In what’ll come as a shock only to high school sweethearts in their first semester of college, Natalie Portman is probably done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was already known that Portman, who plays astrophysicist Jane Foster, Thor’s earthbound love interest, wouldn’t appear in Thor: Ragnarok.
Now, Portman tells the Wall Street Journal that she’s been able to do what no Chris before her has ever done: leave the MCU. She said: “As far as I know, I’m done.”
From Portman’s comments, her absence in the latest Marvel movies (she hasn’t been seen since Thor: The Dark World) seems to have more to do with a lack of a demand for her character than with Portman’s disinterest in the part.
She explained that there’s always a chance of her return a million Marvel movies in the future, but she doesn’t think it’s likely. “I don’t know if maybe they’ll ask for an Avengers 7 or whatever. I have no idea, but as far as I know I’m done,” she said. Sure she sounds casual now, but boy is it gonna sting when Thor brings the Hulk home for Thanksgiving this year.
[From Vulture]
Her absence “seems to have more to do with a lack of a demand for her character than with Portman’s disinterest in the part.” LOL. As I said back in April, Portman and Chris Hemsworth had zero chemistry together and Jane really was unpopular in the Marvel universe. My guess is that she did have additional films left on her Marvel contract and Marvel was like, “Yeah, no thanks.” Which is fine, she’s got other stuff on her plate. But it’s still sort of funny to me.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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