Natalie Portman didn’t need much help to prepare for her upcoming return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe inThor: Love and Thunder. Portman recently broke down how she prepared to wield Mjolnir in the forthcoming addition to the God of Thunder’s film series. Those involved with the film weren’t shy to give Portman credit for how she managed to transform herself to prepare for her role as the Mighty Thor.

Portman’s return toThor: Love and Thunderwill feature her in a slightly different role than her typical MCU appearance as Jane Foster. As the Mighty Thor, Portman will return to the screen with a new set of superpowers, including the ability to wield Mjolnir.Portman’s appearance inThor: Love and Thunderwill be her first time in the MCU since 2013. Portman made her MCU debut in 2011 inThorand reprised her role as Jane Foster in the 2013 sequel,Thor: The Dark World.

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In discussing her preparation for her new role inThor: Love and Thunder,Portman recalled training both prior to and during her work on the Marvel Studios film, and drinking protein shakes to help her look the part of the superhero and prepare for the action of the film. On the topic ofPortman’s superheroic appearance inThor 4,Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige gave credit to Portman’s efforts, noting that they had to do very little to make her fit the bill. “The only thing we assisted with was making the Mighty Thor a little bit taller,” Feige said to Total Film. “That was the only movie magic we used. Everything else was all her.”

Despite intense preparation for the role, Portman mentioned that even with the stunt doubles, the film was still physically demanding. “We had incredible stunt doubles who did the really hard stuff, but there’s still a great deal of running and jumping and swords and hammer-fighting,” Portman said. Aside from the physicality of Marvel Studios' action sequences, Portman drew attention to another facet of being a Marvel hero that requires a bit of strength. While Marvel Studios is often regarded for the beauty and intricate details of their costume designs, Portman noted that parts of the costume may be challenging without the right strength. “It was definitely helpful to be strong. To have that weight of the cape all day, you want to have some upper-body strength.”

At this point, it’s unclear how the Mighty Thor has come to wield the Mjolnir in theThorfranchise, but Waititi is certain to provide an explanation. Waititi will also provide some insight intoJane and Thor’s relationship, and what transpired between the two since the last time fans saw them together. What happened between Jane and Thor was largely left to the imagination of Marvel fans, and Chris Hemsworth noted that he and Portman had fun diving into all the details of their characters' relationship inLove and Thunder.

Thor: Love and Thunderwill also feature the returns of other Marvel alumni. Aside from Hemsworth reprising his role as Thor, he and Portman will bejoined by fellowThoralumni Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Jeff Goldblum, andThor: Love and Thunderdirector Taika Waititi, who will all reprise their respective on-screen roles as Valkyrie, Sif, the Grandmaster, and Korg. They will be joined by the cast ofGuardians of the Galaxy,including Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillian, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and Sean Gunn.Thor: Love and Thunderwill also add a few new faces to theThorfranchise in Zeus (Russell Crowe) and the film’s villain, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale).

Thor: Love and Thunderwill release in theaters on June 08, 2025.