# Natalie Portman is the new Thor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398 "2019-07-21T13:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/21 "2019-07-22T02:05:02Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > 1. “Natalie Portman sucks as an actor” Point of order, I never said that she sucks as an actor. She just sucked in the MCU Thor movies. Maybe she doesn’t play that role well, maybe she just didn’t give a shit and phoned in her performance… I dunno. But she was somewhere between awful and forgettable depending on how charitable you’re feeling. I don’t know anyone who left those feeling like “Man, I sure could use more of Portman’s Jane Foster in the next movies…” I’d be more interested if I heard that there was going to be a Paltrow/Potts led Iron Man movie than a Portman/Foster Thor. Maybe it’ll be great, I’m just honestly surprised that, in the context of the MCU so far, anyone thought “You know who we need more of…?” ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/22 "2019-07-22T02:16:58Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Point of order, I never said that she sucks as an actor. She just sucked in the MCU Thor movies. Maybe she doesn’t play that role well, maybe she just didn’t give a shit and phoned in her performance… I dunno. But she was somewhere between awful and forgettable depending on how charitable you’re feeling. I don’t know anyone who left those feeling like “Man, I sure could use more of Portman’s Jane Foster in the next movies…” > > I’d be more interested if I heard that there was going to be a Paltrow/Potts led Iron Man movie than a Portman/Foster Thor. Maybe it’ll be great, I’m just honestly surprised that, in the context of the MCU so far, anyone thought “You know who we need more of…?” H’m. I thought I was distilling down the comments of a couple of posters - possibly I was conflating with other stuff I’ve read around the web. I didn’t mean to misrepresent your particular comments, anyway. _Mea culpa_. And, again, I largely agree with you on your comments on her performance in the Thor movies; I’m hoping a better role will bring out a better performance, that we know she can do. I think that Waititi, and Marvel in general, said “this is a good story, and it’s one we want to tell,” and that’s why they went with it. I’m hoping that Portman can summon up the performance that the story deserves. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/23 "2019-07-22T02:37:57Z")
They should have gotten the actress that plays Brienne of Tarth from game of thrones or whatever to play the female Thor, she has the look of a woman that could wield the hammer of Thor. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/24 "2019-07-22T02:44:56Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I’d be more interested if I heard that there was going to be a Paltrow/Potts led Iron Man movie than a Portman/Foster Thor. Maybe it’ll be great, I’m just honestly surprised that, in the context of the MCU so far, anyone thought “You know who we need more of…?” At least with Potts they set up multiple prior movies with her wearing Iron Man armor. Jane Foster they spent a similar amount of time writing her out of the MCU. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/25 "2019-07-22T02:55:24Z")
I don’t have any problem with Portman’s acting; I thought the character was kind of wooden and distant because, hello, nerdy scientist with no social life? It made sense to me. What doesn’t make a lot of sense to me is how they’re going to ramp up from “nerdy scientist” to “deserves the power of Thor” in one movie without just re-making the first movie. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/26 "2019-07-22T03:01:55Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I don’t have any problem with Portman’s acting; I thought the character was kind of wooden and distant because, hello, nerdy scientist with no social life? It made sense to me. > > What doesn’t make a lot of sense to me is how they’re going to ramp up from “nerdy scientist” to “deserves the power of Thor” in one movie without just re-making the first movie. Perhaps the “Loki” miniseries will lead up to it, as “WandaVision” will apparently lead up to “Doctor Strange”? Dunno. At this point, it’s all speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/27 "2019-07-22T03:41:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **galen ubal** : > > 1. “Thor Odinsson and Jane are no longer an item, therefore she’s no longer in the picture” > Does she have to be dating Odinsson to be worthy of the power of Thor? They don’t need to be an item for her to be worthy; they need to be an item for her to be in the picture. There are 7 billion people on Earth. Some very low percentage are worthy… 1%? 0.01%? But even with a very low percentage, that still leaves a _lot_ of potential worthies. Why would Jane specifically be chosen? If she’s hanging around with Odinsson a lot, then it makes sense: She’s the closest, or she’s the one he specifically entrusts the hammer to once he can’t wield it any more, or whatever. But if they’re not together, then why her? > [@](#): > > Quoth **Ethilrist** : > > I don’t have any problem with Portman’s acting; I thought the character was kind of wooden and distant because, hello, nerdy scientist with no social life? It made sense to me. I’m exactly the sort of person her character should have resonated with. I’m also a nerdy scientist with almost no social life, and I even have the same subfield of specialization. And, well, she didn’t. Her performance just fell completely flat to me. It’s not a dig on her acting skills in general: I’ve seen other things where she was just fine. But apparently, “nerdy” just isn’t in her range. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/28 "2019-07-22T04:07:00Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Bear in mind that, in Marvel canon, from the start, Mjolnir has born the inscription: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” In the movies, at least, it seemed like one of the main points of Ragnarok was that _Thor_ was Thor, not because of a magic hammer but because… he was Thor. I suppose that doesn’t preclude the hammer making people Thor-like but it seems weird that you’d carry around a hammer that gave you the power of you. It’s like Peter Parker having his spider mojo and also wearing a special suit that gives him the proportional strength of a spider. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/29 "2019-07-22T04:29:29Z")
Nice to see we’re already nitpicking a movie that hasn’t been written yet. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/30 "2019-07-22T04:34:10Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > … > 2) “Thor Odinsson and Jane are no longer an item, therefore she’s no longer in the picture” > Does she have to be dating Odinsson to be worthy of the power of Thor? > … But you see, she is not getting the POWER of Thor, she BECOMES Thor, which is what I dont like. Thor isnt a job title, it’s his name. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/31 "2019-07-22T04:51:30Z")
\ Let’s just say that I’m not a fan of Natalie Portman. I certainly cannot imagine her as Thor. There’s no way she’s going to get sufficiently bulked up and muscular to be even remotely believable. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/32 "2019-07-22T05:00:47Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Nice to see we’re already nitpicking a movie that hasn’t been written yet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/33 "2019-07-22T05:12:48Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I certainly cannot imagine her as Thor. There’s no way she’s going to get sufficiently bulked up and muscular to be even remotely believable. As noted upthread: - The MCU already has examples of bulked-up characters played by decidedly non-bulked-up actors, thanks to CGI (e.g., Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk) - In the “Jane as Thor” cycle of the \*Thor \*comic book, [Mjolnir’s magic transformed Jane’s body from that of a thin woman who was dying of breast cancer to a big, muscular woman.](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--iaLSkJlk--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/spkal8a7mt9zjwdapmlj.png) ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/34 "2019-07-22T07:09:10Z")
Quite possible they get someone else to play her in Thor-form (especially if she’s rocking the helmet that hides the top half of her face), or they could just CGI it as mentioned above. I like Natalie Portman but agree that her spot in the Thor movies didn’t work very well; she seemed disinterested. I know she didn’t like playing the damsel in distress so maybe being the heroine will get her more interested. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/35 "2019-07-22T07:45:15Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > \ > > Let’s just say that I’m not a fan of Natalie Portman. > > I certainly cannot imagine her as Thor. There’s no way she’s going to get sufficiently bulked up and muscular to be even remotely believable. Actually, this is something I’m really looking forward to seeing. She’s a genuinely small woman. He listed height is 5’3" but sells smaller. Making that work will be great. It’s kind of like seeing Joan Jett live. She’s listed at 5’5" but live she looks absolutely teeny - her guitars looks two sizes too big - but she absolutely fills a room/hall/stadium when she plays. I want to see if Portman can pull the same thing off as Thor. I’m willing to bet she can. ---
**Author:** ![DerNils](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerNils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerNils)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/36 "2019-07-22T09:08:10Z")
I am really looking Forward into how this will work. And all the Valkyrie fanboys can rejoice, as she was stated to be in that same movie. Let us se how they work the FemThor angle, as currently Mjolnir has shifted a bit in the MCU from being the empowering item as seen in Thor 1 to being basically just Dumbos Magic Feather in Ragnarock. Which I am fine with, but it begs the question how Jane Foster wielding Mjölnir works out. Multiverse is an absolute possiblity, as they lean into it with the new Strange movie. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/37 "2019-07-22T10:08:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They don’t need to be an item for her to be worthy; they need to be an item for her to be in the picture. I admit that I haven’t actually gotten my hands on the female Thor books–I just know about them from talking with fans and stuff. But what I was reading sure made it seem like her being with Thor had absolutely nothing to do with why Mjolnir picked her. Thor was completely unaware that she was the new Thor. (I also presume that means she looks quite different powered up.) Also, any “why her?” question would obviously have to be answered in the movie itself. But remember that very few are worthy, and few still are more than temporarily worthy (like Captain America and Superman were). Worthy doesn’t mean “good person.” Plus the other obvious candidate would be Valkyrie, but she’s becoming her own thing, rather than female Thor. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/38 "2019-07-22T10:41:25Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yes, anyone who can pick up the hammer becomes Thor. (Probably from mutle thrain.) Still waiting for the films to include the line “_You’re_ Thor? I’m tho thor I can hardly _pith_!” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/39 "2019-07-22T11:22:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Nice to see we’re already nitpicking a movie that hasn’t been written yet. They don’t announce these things years in advance so people _don’t_ talk about them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398/40 "2019-07-22T13:50:00Z")
Plus, if they decide to change course based on the fans thinking they made a mistake, better that they realize that early, when it’s still possible to change course, rather than later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-is-the-new-thor/837398.md?page=3)