Loki could hold the key to Thor 4’s biggest mystery
Could this be how The Mighty Thor shows up in Love and Thunder?
Just as Loki starred multiple versions of Marvel’s God of Mischief, next year’s Thor: Love and Thunder will feature not just one but multiple Gods of Thunder.
In addition to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Love and Thunder will also see writer-director Taika Waititi transforming Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) into The Mighty Thor for the first time on-screen.
As for how Jane turns into The Mighty Thor, fans don’t really have a clue. However, one new theory suggests that Loki Season 1 holds the key to solving that particular mystery.
Enter: The Mighty Thor — Natalie Portman won’t be playing the same Jane Foster from 2011’s Thor or 2013’s Thor: The Dark World in next year’s Love and Thunder, but a variant of the character who ended up with the God of Thunder’s powers. This theory, advanced by ComicBook.com, theorizes that the multiversal fracturing seen in the Loki Season 1 finale could result in a version of Jane from an alternate reality ending up in the same dimension as Hemsworth’s Thor.
If this were to happen, the closest parallel would be how Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) appeared in Loki as a variant of Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief. For what it’s worth, this could also explain how the characters from Sony’s past Spider-Man films are going to appear in this year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Mighty Thor turns away from the sun on the cover of Thor Vol. 4 #5. Published in 2015.
Variants of Thunder — Loki Season 1 did plenty to establish variants and branch realities as concepts that will be explored further in upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
However, some pre-existing pieces of evidence — namely, a batch of set photos from several months ago — suggest Portman’s Jane Foster won’t be a variant in Thor: Love and Thunder. The images in question seemed to reveal a scene in the film in which Jane approaches the broken shards of Mjolnir (strewn after its destruction in Thor: Ragnarok), only to be lifted in the air as if overtaken by a powerful magical force.
These set photos imply that Jane’s transformation in Thor: Love and Thunder will closely resemble how the character became The Mighty Thor in the comics, with Mjolnir calling out to Jane and turning her into the Goddess of Thunder. In this case, it seems more likely than not that Jane touching Mjolnir in Thor: Love and Thunder will not only be what repairs the broken hammer but what transforms her into The Mighty Thor.
Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in 2011’s Thor.
The Inverse Analysis — Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t set to hit theaters until May 2022, which makes predicting its specific plot beats and twists a foolhardy endeavor. Therefore, while it seems unlikely that the Jane Foster featured in the film will be a variant, it’s impossible to know whether that’s the case.
Even if Jane isn’t a variant in Thor: Love and Thunder, that doesn’t mean the film won’t find ways to take advantage of the current multiversal state of the MCU. In fact, early rumors suggest that Portman’s Jane and Hemsworth’s Thor won’t even be the only versions of the God of Thunder who appear.
Thor: Love and Thunder will be released in theaters on May 6th, 2022.
