It has become a common state of affairs in the MCU for supporting players to be phased out, or set up, but never return, be it due to character or actor issues. Tim Blake Nelson's The Leader was teased at the end of
The Incredible Hulk but was never heard from again
, and Hugo Weaving seemingly closed the door on reprising his role as Red Skull, for example.
One character that we thought we'd never see again due to an actor's less than enthusiastic experience working with the franchise is Thor's love interes,t Jane Foster. But that might not be the case any more!
Natalie Portman reportedly refused to return for reshoots on the 2013's Thor: The Dark World and neither she nor Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel have really had anything substantial or positive to say about one another since. With her character quietly being phased out to the point that when in 2016 Portman was asked about reprising her role in the then yet to be released
Thor: Ragnarok by the
Wall Street Journal, she stated:
As far as I know, I’m done. I don’t know if, maybe, one day they’ll ask for an Avengers 7 or whatever. I have no idea! But as far as I know I’m done.
Has she sofened her stance on returning since? Well, asked about ever reprising her role in the comic book franchise during an interview for her upcoming film Alex Garland's
Annihilation, Portman had this to say:
I’m completely open to everything, but I have no news about that. (Laughs)
While this is certainly not an indication that she will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with her hat thrown into the ring it could well become a reality - especially with the recent anniversary and legacy sensibilities the series of films has switched into as it leads into its "finale". This franchise culmination approach has seen in recent years the surprise return of William Hurt's General Ross in Captain America: Civil War and Gwyneth Paltrow also returned from her extended leave of absence as Pepper Potts for Spider-Man: Homecoming.
What do you think? Would you like to see Portman and Foster return? Or has the ship sailed on that relationship and character? Are you still annoyed at the way the character was treated in THOR: The Dark World? Leave your thoughts below.