Natalie Portman to play female Thor in the Marvel’s 4th film in the series

Saturday’s Comic Con that took place in San Diego had a whole lot of surprises for Marvel fans as the franchise announced a number of new films.

Fans were in for a treat when Natalie Portman made a surprise entrance during Marvel Studio's Comic-Con presentation and it was announced that she would be playing the female version of Thor in the fourth movie in the Thor series - 'Thor: Love and Thunder'.

The 38-year-old actress played Thor’s love interest leading astrophysicist Jane Foster in the first two films in the Thor franchise.

She sat out the third film, Thor: Ragnarok. However, when footage from Thor: The Dark World, was shown in this year's Avengers: Endgame, along with a new voice-over, fans speculated the actress would make an official return to the franchise. And they were not wrong!

Director Taika Waititi told the Comic-Con audience that while they were shooting Thor: Ragnarok, he read from Jason Aaron's Mighty Thor comic series, which depicts Jane as a female Thor.

"So, there's only one person who can do that," Waititi said, referring to Portman.

The actress then took the stage and was handed a replica Mjolnir hammer.

"This feels pretty good," she said. "I've always had a little hammer envy."

'Thor: Love and Thunder' is set for release on Nov. 5, 2021.