Fans of Marvel movies aren’t necessarily fans of Marvel Comics. That’s not a criticism, it just is what it is. When Natalie Portman was confirmed to return as Jane Foster for Thor: Love & Thunder, and would even be taking on the role of Thor, I got the excitement from fans. But at the same time, the lingering question I had was if Taika Waititi planned to incorporate the darkest elements of that particular storyline, because they ain’t pretty.
To keep it short, in the Marvel Comics storyline that saw Jane Foster take on the mantle of The Mighty Thor, she’s also dealing with a terminal breast cancer diagnosis. Yeah, not the kind of thing you’d expect to find in a Marvel movie, right? The god-like power Foster wields is invigorating and gives her renewed purpose, but at the same time it’s also detrimental to her cancer treatments. Basically, being a god may feel awesome, but it’s also killing her.
Fun stuff, right? So how would that fit into Waititi’s movie? Would he even include it? The answer, at least for now, is that he doesn’t know. He explained his feelings on the issue to Variety…
“I think that’s a really powerful part of the books. I think it’s really cool that she’s fighting this thing and there’s two battles going on. Personally I really love that storyline. But whether it ends up in the film is yet to be seen.”
“We’re not sure if we’re going to do a complete lift of that whole storyline,” Waititi added. “These things change through the shoot and even when we’re editing sometimes. Like, ‘Let’s get rid of that storyline where she’s got breast cancer. We’ll change it to something else, or maybe she’s fine.’”
Maybe he should include it just to quiet folks like Martin Scorsese who think Marvel movies are “theme parks”? I don’t see this happening, but Waititi could surprise me. Thor: Love & Thunder opens November 5th 2021.
