'I'm done': Natalie Portman opens up about whether Jane Foster will be seen in the MCU again

When upcoming Marvel sequel Thor: Ragnarok is finally released next year, fans will be treated to a star-studded affair with the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban and Cate Blanchett all appearing. Of course, familiar faces Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth are returning too, joined by fellow on-screen Avenger, Mark Ruffalo. But someone who won't be reprising her role from the last two Thor movies is Natalie Portman, and now, the Oscar-winning actress has suggested it's unlikely that cinema-goers will ever see her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"As far as I know, I'm done," she recent told The Wall Street Journal, when asked about her future projects and if she had any Marvel outings lined up. "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."

While it's admirable that Portman offered up a pretty blunt answer, it seems a shame that comic-book movie fans are unlikely to see her character, astrophysicist Jane Foster in the MCU again. Given that it's completely set in space (and Foster is a human), it's understandable that her character realistically wouldn't show up in Ragnarok, but considering that Thor will be seen in further Avengers movies (and will therefore have to return to Earth at some point), it's disappointing that hers and Thor's relationship looks like it'll be simply be glossed over.

Besides, Foster isn't merely a love interest to Thor within the original comics, she actually goes on to adopt the superhero mantle of the Asgardian god in 2013... Basically, she's a pretty big deal.

Her absence isn't all that surprising however given that Foster was merely mentioned in Avengers Assemble follow-up Age Of Ultron in 2015 and hasn't had much of a presence in the series since Thor: The Dark World in 2013.

Similarly Iron Man's 'love interest' Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) has had similar treatment as of late on the silver screen. Like Foster she was touched upon in Age Of Ultron but never seen and in the even more recent Captain America: Civil War, it was explained that she and Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) were 'taking a break.'

It's worth noting though that the subject of story-altering, romantic relationships do seem to have been put on the back-burner in more recent instalments of the franchise but still, Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff and Ruffalo's Bruce Banner certainly had a connection in Age Of Ultron and Steve Rogers kissed Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) in Civil War, so why can't other heroes share the love too? Only time will tell...

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