See Natalie Portman’s Workouts Payoff In New Image From Thor: Love And Thunder

Natalie got jacked!

By Michileen Martin | Published

natalie portman

When the long-awaited Thor: Love and Thunder trailer finally dropped in April, there was a lot to love. There was the infectious use of Guns N’ Roses’ classic “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Thor’s hilarious and creepy attempt to get in Peter Quill’s eyeline at an interesting moment, and our first (albeit brief) look at Russell Crowe as Zeus. But more than anything fans went wild over the first shot of Natalie Portman as the Mighty Thor. Now a new promotional image has been released, making it even more clear how jacked the Black Swan actress got to play one of Marvel’s newest superheroes. 

The image shows Natalie Portman as the Mighty Thor and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie sitting in ornate chairs; possibly thrones. Whoever they’re looking at off-camera… well let’s just say we wouldn’t want to be whoever it is they’re looking at. Both Portman and Thompson look to be in incredible shape, but in particular Portman’s arms are uncharacteristically muscular. You can see the image, along with subsequent closer looks at both Thompson and Portman, below.

natalie portman tessa thompson
Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman in Thor: Love and Thunder

As to where the Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman are supposed to be in these photos, there are a number of likely possibilities. They could be in the throne room of New Asgard, though if so it isn’t designed at all like the original. The film will reportedly find New Asgard in a conflict with the gods of Olympus, so some — like The Direct — speculate they could be in Olympus trying to hash things out with Zeus. That would explain their unhappy looks. Another possibility is Omnipotence City. The place was introduced in the same Thor: God of Thunder storyline which saw the premiere of Gorr the God Butcher — Christian Bale’s Love and Thunder villain — and is meant to be a gathering place for gods of all pantheons. And as a gathering place for gods of all pantheons, it acts as a perfect hunting ground for Gorr. If Omnipotence City exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would be a natural choice for hosting New Asgard/Olympus peace talks.

More than where the pair are sitting or who they’re giving such dark looks, the subject of why Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman are pictured together here is sure to feed speculation. We know Valkyrie will have her own romantic storyline in Love and Thunder with a woman, and this image could be a hint that it will be with the Mighty Thor. It’s long been speculated it would either be Mighty Thor or Jaimie Alexander’s Sif who would have the chance to become Valkyrie’s queen. If nothing else, if Valkyrie and Mighty Thor are an item, it will certainly create an interesting dynamic between them and Chris Hemsworth’s OG Thor.

We’re sure to know more once Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters in July. The film is directed by Taika Waititi and written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaitlyn Robinson (Someone Great). The film will star Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Jeff Goldblum, and the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper.