The God Of Thunder Flashes Back In New Thor: Love And Thunder Set Photos

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is going completely cosmic in its Phase Four slate of movies, as both "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" will embrace different universes and blur the lines between reality itself. After that comes Taika Waititi's "Thor: Love and Thunder," which sees the New Zealand director return to the MCU with a brand new adventure for the God of Thunder. Only this time, Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian hero won't be the only one to call down the lightning.

Natalie Portman is reprising her role as Dr. Jane Foster, and the film will see her become Thor, the Goddess of Thunder. Yes, you read that right: Marvel is finally putting a hammer in Jane Foster's hands. In the comics, this comes about in "Original Sin" #7 when Nick Fury whispers a secret to Thor, which causes him to become unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, effectively stripping him of his abilities. Jane Foster is the one who picks up the hammer, donning her own version of Thor's armor, including a masked helmet that conceals her identity for quite some time. She was given her own comic series in "Mighty Thor," and Portman previously confirmed that the film is pulling directly from the heartbreaking storyline.

Recently, new set photos from the "Thor: Love and Thunder" set show Hemsworth and Portman together, but Thor has a new (and also old) look.

New set photos posted by Twitter user @NaberriePower seem to suggest that the MCU is revisiting Thor and Jane Foster's relationship around the time of "Thor: The Dark World." Eagle-eyed fans online pointed this out as a possible flashback because Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman seem to be wearing the same wigs from the 2013 movie. It makes sense considering Thor's lengthy locks are beard are styled the same way right up until he gets a haircut in "Thor: Ragnarok" before regrowing it in "Avengers: Endgame."

The photos on Twitter show the duo shopping for jewelry as director Taika Waititi offers guidance to both actors. @NaberriePower wrote that the two stars could easily be filming a date scene set post-"The Dark World." They later wrote that "it's probably still a flashback. Which should mean that this scene takes place before the breakup that they supposedly filmed two days ago" (via Twitter).

Marvel fans already knew that Thor and Jane broke up offscreen in the MCU because the God of Thunder mentions it during "Ragnarok." But, if the tweets are to be believed, then the "Love and Thunder" flashback scenes might show how the pair broke up. Obviously, this isn't confirmed, so take it with a pinch of salt. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how Jane's newfound abilities change the dynamic between her and Thor. Hopefully, they find their way back together since Taika Waititi previously promised "Thor: Love and Thunder" is a romance movie.

"Thor: Love and Thunder" arrives in theaters on July 8, 2022.