ANAHEIM – Natalie Portman returned to the world of Marvel Comics and “Thor” on Saturday as she met the media and fans at the 2013 D23 Expo. The Oscar winner reprises her role as the God of Thunder’s love interest, Jane, in “Thor: The Dark World” which hits theaters in a little under three months.
The Mighty Avenger promised he’d return for her at the end of the first film, but somehow he didn’t have time to say hello in “The Avengers.” Thor (once again portrayed by Chris Hemsworth) more than makes up for it (we hope) by transporting Jane to Asgard where she finds herself assisting the Asgardians as they face the evil Dark Elves. As depicted in the trailer, the Dark Elves are so deadly that Thor must free his brother Loki (fan favorite Tom Hiddleston) to help combat this new “greater” threat. This doesn’t sit very well with Jane who purposely slaps Loki in the face proclaiming, “That’s for New York,” a reference to the God of Mischief’s intended alien invasion of the Big Apple at the end of the aforementioned Joss Whedon blockbuster.
HitFix asked Portman if Jane feels this new evil is worth allowing Loki some redemption. Portman noted, “I don’t think she’s as quite as forgiving as Thor is. Often times we protect the people we love more than we protect themselves. But, he’s helpful in some places. Evil people can think like other evil people.”
Since the first film in 2011, Jane has always dreamed of visiting other world and her reaction to actually visiting Asgard turns out to be something of a surprise.
“Things that she’s marveling at seem like high technology to her are like kids toys [to them] and they are such an advanced species that even though she’s this astrophysicist she’s totally inferior to all of them,” Portman says. “So, I think it’s a good humbling experience for her.”
Portman, who recently wrapped the Western drama “Jane’s Got A Gun,” says fans should expect a slightly different tone for “The Dark World.”
“It’s much grittier I think because they chose to shoot in real places much of the time,” Portman says. “A lot of the villains world was shot in Iceland, so it looks like real places as opposed to some [place] drawn on a computer. It’s a lot darker in tone maybe, but still quite epic and entertaining.”
“Thor: The Dark World” opens nationwide on Nov. 8, 2013.