How Natalie Portman’s Friendship With WandaVision’s Kat Dennings Affected Darcy’s Role In Thor

Kat Dennings and Natalie Portman in Thor: Dark World
(Image credit: (Marvel))

For the first time since Thor: The Dark World, Kat Dennings is back in the Marvel Universe for WandaVision, an intriguing MCU adventure on Disney+ centered on two Avengers in a sitcom. And hey, it’s been a minute, Darcy… oh, actually, it’s Dr. Darcy Lewis now. In the universe’s early days, Darcy was solid comedic relief for the Thor franchise, but I’ll admit, it’s sort of strange to see the former intern on her own instead of by the side of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster.

Natalie Portman is expected to check back into the MCU soon with Thor: Love and Thunder after a hiatus similar to Darcy’s. It’s really exciting to see how Marvel is using these Thor characters again, but let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. According to Kat Dennings, her established rapport with Portman may have had something to do with her prominent role in the universe. In her words:

Because Natalie and I are already friends, I remember this exactly. I walk in the room and I'm very shy. I came in and I sat down and Natalie hadn't gotten there yet and everyone was so nice. Natalie came in and sat on my lap because we're friends. I think our friendship started to infect them [like] its purity and love. Slowly, Darcy became more involved, and I was like 'why are they adding me to scenes?' That's kind of what happened. If I am being honest, friendship magic is the reason I'm here today.

Well, this is sweet. While speaking to the Keep It! podcast, Kat Dennings recalled her early days within the MCU, and apparently she and Natalie Portman knew each other well before being costars on Thor. When the two ended up working together on the 2011 movie, their friendship was so infectious that the filmmakers apparently decided to put Darcy in more scenes than intended. She attributed “friendship magic” to the whole thing, and it’s too cute!

Now it’s been a while since the pair have been seen together as Jane and Darcy, but I always sensed an electric chemistry between those two. It may have even stuck out more than Jane and Thor’s (oops… throwing some shade – not their fault, especially since Dark World is infamously one of the weaker Marvel scripts). It’s nice to know Portman and Dennings are friends in our reality too, so now reunite them in Love and Thunder, Marvel!.

Based on what we know about Chris Hemsworth’s next go-around as the God of Thunder, Kat Dennings is not involved, but who knows? It could still happen. In the movie directed by Taika Waititi, Portman’s Jane Foster is expected to become the Mighty Thor and wield the hammer herself, along with Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie playing a part in the film too.

Kat Dennings made her return to the MCU on Friday for the fourth episode of WandaVision in a mystery-solving episode that started to tie some ends about Wanda and Vision’s stay in a sitcom reality. She also joins Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau from Captain Marvel and Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Supporting characters unite! The next episode of WandaVision premieres on Disney+ next Friday!

Up next: WandaVision Episode 4 "We Interrupt This Program" | Analysis & Review

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.