Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman once more plays the esoteric astrophysicist Jane Foster in Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World.”
Jane Foster is an astrophysicist who met Thor when he was exiled to Earth by his father. The two had an intense attraction in the short time they were together, and through Jane, Thor learned the value of humility and the heroic nature of humanity. After being separated since Thor’s first visit to Earth, Jane has moved on with her life…but now finds herself pulled into Thor’s world once again by an ancient evil.
Portman enthuses, “It’s really fun to get to come back and play her again. I think it’s rare to get the opportunity to play these female scientists in this kind of movie, so it’s nice to have a foil for the Super Hero!”
“Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” finds Jane Foster making big changes in her life. Portman explains, “Jane has moved, so she’s now in London, not in Santa Fe anymore. Obviously she has gone through missing Thor and also being upset at him because he didn’t come knock on her door when he was on her planet. She’s definitely been getting over that and trying to move on.”
In the course of the story, Thor and Jane do reunite and, as Portman points out, “Obviously she’s upset at first, but he quickly explains why he didn’t come say hi. He makes it up to her by saving her life and then they become this great team.”
Jane winds up spending most of her time on Asgard, Thor’s home world, where he has taken her for protection. For Portman, this fish-out-of-water scenario not only provided some comedic moments but also a chance to wear Asgardian costumes. “It was definitely new to be in the Asgard clothes and luckily I think my character should feel uncomfortable in them, so, any discomfort I had could be part of the character’s feelings as well,” notes the actress.
Portman also feels that the scale of the sets harkens back to a different era of filmmaking. She comments, “It’s really like the old days of cinema. The sets are incredible and you walk on to set and you think ‘wow, we’re making a movie’. The scope is just so grand. It’s fun to be on that kind of set and see the craftsmanship that goes into it.”
She was likewise delighted to be working with director Alan Taylor, commenting, “Alan is really incredible. He’s really made this film so epic and is also very dead on with all the character moments. He doesn’t do a lot of takes, but knows really specifically what he wants and gives helpful notes.”
Opening across the Philippines on Oct. 30 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular theaters, Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.