Natalie Portman Might Not Return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Having last appeared in the sequel to the first Thor movie, Thor: The Dark World back in 2013, it might have seemed certain that Natalie Portman's character, Jane Foster, would appear in the franchise's latest movie, Thor: Ragnarok. Sorry MCU fans, it seems like she won't be returning for the third installment.

In fact, it seems like she won't be coming back at all anytime soon. According to Entertainment Weekly, Marvel's Kevin Feige said that the actress's absence in the third Thor film was because of "many reasons, many of which are in the film, so you will see that."

However, she was mentioned in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to the first Avengers movie (in which she was also mentioned), in a scene between S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and Thor.

One of the reasons that Feige mentioned would be found in the film, according to Bustle, is "since the movie will be largely be set in space, it made sense for resident of Earth Jane to sit this one out."

As for the actress herself, Portman remains open to coming back to the franchise, of course, as long as she's needed. According to the Wall Street Journal, she said, "As far as I know I'm done..I mean, I don't know if maybe one day they'll ask for an Avengers 7 or whatever, I have no idea. But as far as I know, I'm done, but it was a great thing to be a part of."

At the same time, Natalie Portman is currently focused on her other projects, including the movie A Tale of Love and Darkness, in which she will be making her directorial debut.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has boomed since the first Iron Man movie in 2008 and this year, the latest Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War, which many people passed off as a "Third Avengers movie" due to it having most of the Avengers in it, along with the new additions: Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man. That film alone set a box office record of $1.132 billion upon its release.

Thor: Ragnarok is set to be released in 2017 and it includes Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson.

Check out a part of her interview with the Wall Street Journal here: