Natalie Portman’s story about filming Thor makes the gag play in Thor: Ragnarok more meta. In 2017, director Taika Waititi took over the God of Thunder’s MCU franchise for an overhaul. Thor: Ragnarok revitalized the film series and introduced some new elements, including Asgard’s now-signature dramatic plays.
In a new interview with GQ, Portman reveals how similar her experience filming the previous Thor movies to Thor: Ragnarok‘s hilarious plays. Watch the video below:
Having appeared in the first two Thor films, Portman actually skipped Thor: Ragnarok, but she did return in Thor: Love and Thunder. Despite this, she knows enough of Marvel Studios’ process when filming big movies, including the difficulty of dealing with all the casts’ varying schedules, saying:
I also feel like so much of it is funny because they had trouble with, like schedules, that a lot of people weren’t there at the same time, so we’d also be like doing scenes with some guy that looked a lot like Anthony Hopkins but wasn’t Anthony Hopkins but wearing his wig and costume and saying his lines.
How Natalie Portman’s Thor Story Makes Ragnarok Funnier
Waititi recruited some big names for what were essentially cameos in both Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder. Matt Damon played Loki, Luke Hemsworth played Thor, and Sam Neill as Odin in the former. Meanwhile, Melissa McCarthy debuted as stage Hela in the latter. If Thor 5 ever happens, it’s curious if any of them will come back to reprise their fake MCU roles, even if Waititi doesn’t end up helming the next installment in the MCU sub-franchise.
The stage plays were already hilarious, but learning that actually filming the Thor movies somehow resembled it make it all the funnier. It’s curious if his own experiences as a director inspired Waititi to do this gag. Since Portman was part of Thor: Love and Thunder, it would be interesting to hear her thoughts about the specific stage play in the film, and whether it evoked memories of her shooting her previous MCU outings.
Portman’s Mighty Thor may have died in Thor: Love and Thunder, but it doesn’t mean that she can no longer come back to the MCU. Thor: Ragnarok’s play about Loki’s death is a reminder that they can be reversed if Marvel Studios wants to. There is currently no clear indication that this will be the case, but it’s good to know that it’s a possibility.
Source: GQ