'Infinity War' Directors Reveal the Fates of Lady Sif and Jane Foster

The scope of Thanos’s devestation was even bigger than you saw. In the aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have revealed which familiar Marvel characters survived Thanos’s Infinity Stone-powered genocide and which turned to dust with the other half of the universe. But, three characters in particular have experienced a truly shocking fate.

On Saturday, HuffPost interviewed the Russos, who revealed the fates of a handful of additional Marvel characters who weren’t seen onscreen in Avengers: Infinity War. All of them can be categorized into three separate categories: Alive, Dead, or “Too Spoilery,” which bodes ominously for 2019’s Avengers 4.

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos (Josh Brolin) gathered all of the Infinity Stones and used its cosmic power to wipe out literally half of the known universe. From all corners of the galaxy to New York City, the end of Infinity War saw the disappearance of many important characters. Still, if you ask Doctor Strange, he’d say it was the only way with best possible outcome. (Too bad you can’t ask him though, because he is also dead.)

Though some of these deaths or survivals are inconsequential — sorry, Matt Damon’s “Actor Loki” — others have major ramifications. Here is the list of confirmed dead/alive individuals in the MCU:

Alive:

• Howard the Duck, voiced by Seth Green (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2): ““He survived,” Joe Russo told HuffPost.

• Aunt May, played by Marisa Tomei. (Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming): “Safe,” revealed Anthony Russo.

Phew, it’s a relief to know Aunt May is still breathing. But which characters aren’t?

Dead

• Actor Loki, played by Matt Damon (Thor: Ragnarok): “Did not survive,” said Joe.

• Betty Ross, played by Liv Tyler (The Incredible Hulk): “Gone,” Joe Russo said.

• Lady Sif, played by Jaimie Alexander (Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.): “Gone,” said Joe. HuffPost further confirmed that Alexander will not reprise Lady Sif in Avengers 4.

Oh my God. Sif?! SIF?!!?

“Too Spoilery”

While the Russos would neither confirm nor deny the fate of these characters, “Too spoilery” gives a sense of urgency to these currently MIA. They are:

• Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman (Thor, Thor: The Dark World): “When we say spoiler, [we mean] potential spoiler,” Anthony clarified to HuffPost.

• Korg and Miek, voiced by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok): Joe Russo answered, “Spoiler.”

• Shuri, played by Letitia Wright (Black Panther): “Spoiler,” said Joe Russo.

• Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther): No definitive answer, but the Russos explained that she was on undercover missions during the film.

• Ned, played by Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming): “Spoiler,” said Joe Russo.

Of all these characters, three stand out: The possible survival of Jane Foster, and the deaths of Lady Sif and Betty Ross.

While Liv Tyler hasn’t been close to the MCU since 2008’s Incredible Hulk, she was still an integral character. She was the one who left Bruce Banner’s heart so broken that he found a new crush in Black Widow, of all people. She was also the source of “Veronica,” the codename for the Hulkbuster armor, an Easter egg to Betty and Veronica in the Archie comics.

Meanwhile, Lady Sif is also dead and this is an outrage. Though Sif was missing in Thor: Ragnarok due to scheduling conflict with the NBC series Blindspot, Lady Sif is still a big deal to the Thor mythos and deserves a proper send-off than disappearing into the void. The Warriors Three deserved better, and so does Sif.

But the big surprise is Jane Foster and Natalie Portman’s maybe, maybe not return to the MCU. Until recently, Portman was done-zo with Marvel, telling Wall Street Journal in 2016: “As far as I know I’m done … I mean, I don’t know if maybe one day they’ll ask for an Avengers 7, or whatever, I have no idea.”

Her tune (barely) changed earlier this year on the press tour for the sci-fi thriller Annihilation, telling ScreenRant: “I’m completely open to everything, but I have no news about that.”

What changed? Nothing. What was confirmed? Nothing. The simple reality is that the Russos are saying that Jane Foster’s whereabouts are being kept close to the chest, because they (or Marvel) may have plans for the character. Those plans seem dependent on Portman, who has shown little interest in returning but maybe would because she’s an actress who works for a living. Sure, in the comics, Jane Foster becomes worthy for Mjolnir and becomes Thor, during which she also became an Avenger. But no one knows for sure what the future holds in store for Jane Foster.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.