Thor Has Found His Jane

This news is something we have expected since March, but today comes the official word that Natalie Portman has indeed been casted in Marvel's "Thor" being directed by Kenneth Branagh. THR reports that Portman will play Jane Foster in the comic book adaptation. Foster is a nurse who assists Dr. Donald Blake (Thor's human form) and develops a love triangle between both the Norse god and his human counter-part. Filming is set to start on "Thor" early next year with a May 2011 release set. THR describes the film, "The story centers on Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans but once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth."

Jane Foster has been a supporting character and love interest in Thor comics dating back into the early 60's when Jack Kirby was still penning Thor, so adding her character in a Thor film is much like having Mary Jane in Spider-Man or Pepper Potts in Iron Man. The casting does however provide evidence that "Thor" will not be set exclusively on Asgard, but feature a prominent amount of plot development here on Earth too. Being a long time fan and reader of Thor, I have my suspicions on how Marvel Studios will handle Thor's character in keeping up with their studios recent trend of realism, but I will leave that speculation for another date or article.

The casting of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster is near perfect. I love Portman as an actress, she has always carried her roles and been a true delight to watch on screen. It also helps, that she is such a beautiful actress. It's hard too find both a beautiful and smart actress who you know damn well, will be a nice compliment to any cast she joins. Portman also being a close resemblence to Foster from the comics is nice, but Portman adds star potential to the film. Prior to casting the seasoned Natalie Portman, the cast of "Thor" included mainly unknown such as Chris Hemsworth playing Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Brian Blessed as Odin. I do not doubt any of the cast selected, more so, I am very much excited for a relative cast of unknowns in "Thor". My only concern is the vast majority of the public who may be hesitant to go see a "Thor" film without any top shelf talent. Which should all but vanish once we see what Kenneth Branagh does with the iconic character. More "Thor" news as it develops, Kraaaaackk-Boooooom....

What say you? Do you like the addition of Natalie Portman to Thor? Strikeback...