Thor: Love and Thunder Intro Initially Focused on Jane Instead of Gorr

Although Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) was prominently featured throughout the duration of Thor: Love and Thunder, the character almost made her return much earlier in the film. According to Thor scribe Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Foster nearly kicked the film off instead of an opening that focused in on the brief origin of Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher.

In a new chat with Variety, Robinson said Foster's opening was even in the picture's initial draft from Taika Waititi, but was eventually changed as the film began to develop and find its rhythm.

"Yeah. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I think it's fine: In the original draft, it was actually before the Marvel [Studios logo]. It was even earlier in Taika's original draft," the writer told the trade. "That always was a moving piece — ultimately, it did become [the origins for] Gorr and I think it's awesome. But [Jane's cancer] was never going to be a gotcha moment. It was always, like, this is the story of this woman. This is her arc. And this is where it starts."

In the same chat, Robinson confirmed Foster's cancer was always going to be a part of the film's plot, even though cast and crew held silent on the plot point throughout the entirety of the movie's press tour.

"It was always there. Obviously, it's in the comics, and it was in Taika's first draft. And then it was just about, you know, what does this mean? We had a lot of conversations, especially with Natalie, about, you know, we have a responsibility here," she added.

Robinson concluded, "What an amazing thing to be able to show a superhero with cancer and really not shy away from the ugliness of it and the things that are hard about it, but also really being able for this character to shine. A lot of the conversations were like, "How do we do this justice and how do we put something on screen that's going to mean something and resonate with cancer survivors?"

Taika Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok, returns to direct Thor: Love and Thunder. He also co-wrote the film's screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, and Vin Diesel.

Thor: Love and Thunder is now in theaters while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set for release on May 5, 2023.

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