SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Thor: Love And Thunder. If you have not yet seen the film, continue at your own risk!
Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love And Thunder features what can be called a bittersweet ending. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor defeats his latest antagonist, and his life moves forward in a positive way as he takes responsibility for the care of Gorr’s daughter, but the hero also has to say goodbye to the woman that he loves. While the post-credits scene in the blockbuster reveals that she has gone to Valhalla, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster has died… though she didn’t pass on without whispering some parting words to the God of Thunder.
The Marvel movie doesn’t reveal what Jane Foster quietly says to Thor before she dies, as the Avenger is the only person who hears it, and he doesn’t disseminate the message – but Natalie Portman has assured us that it a) was a specific line that she delivered into her co-star’s ear, and b) that she never plans to reveal what she said.
I interviewed Taika Waititi and the stars of Thor: Love And Thunder during the Los Angeles press day for the new Marvel movie, and it was at the end of my time with Natalie Portman that our conversation veered into spoiler territory. Asking about Jane Foster’s final whisper to Thor, I inquired both if it was a specific line and about the experience on set, and Portman said,
Yeah, that scene was really, really fun to shoot, and yes, there is a specific line, but I will never reveal it.
In Thor: Love And Thunder, Jane Foster is given a shocking introduction as it is revealed that she has Stage 4 cancer. She ends up wielding Mjolnir and becoming Mighty Thor as a way of regaining strength, but it’s ultimately revealed that the weapon is accelerating her condition. Going against the request of Thor, she suits up for the final battle against Christian Bale’s Gorr The God Butcher, and while they are victorious, the effort takes everything that Jane has left in her. As she is about to die, she whispers what she declares is her real new catchphrase (a running bit over the course of the film), but the audience isn’t made privy to what she says.
Given that we never hear what she says, it’s certainly nice to know that Natalie Portman didn’t just say “rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb” into Chris Hemsworth’s ear (unless, for some unclear reason, that’s her new catchphrase). As for the secret remaining a secret, I’ll be curious to see how long that lasts.
If we’re being generous, it’s possible that only three individuals in the world know what Jane Foster whispered to Thor – Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, and Taika Waititi… but to paraphrase Mark Twain, three people can only keep a secret if two of them are dead. It’s very likely that all of them are going to be asked about the line for many years to come, and one of them may just eventually break and give it up. Or, perhaps, it’s a revelation that is being saved for if/when Mighty Thor makes some kind of triumphant return a few years down the line in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The whisper at the end of Lost In Translation couldn’t be kept a secret for very long, and it feels like there is going to be even more pressure for a revelation with a blockbuster as big as Thor: Love And Thunder.
The 28th film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now playing in theaters everywhere. If you have already seen it and are getting amped for what is ahead in the future of the franchise, our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides have all of the information that you are looking for.
