“Thor: Love and Thunder,” which is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2022, will see the God of Thunder take a break and be replaced by Natalie Portman as Doctor Jane Foster, the new Mighty Thor with Mjolnir in hand.

This will be the fourth film in the “Thor” franchise, directed by Taika Waititi, and will come after “Avengers: Endgame,” which saw Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) leave Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy when his realm Asgard fell.

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, and Vin Diesel as the loving Groot join Hemsworth as the new member of the crew. The absence of Gamora is striking.

Thor will quit the Guardians of the Galaxy to pursue his own path, as seen in the new video.

The film is described as follows by Disney:

Thor embarks on a voyage unlike any other he’s ever undertaken: a quest for inner peace. However, a galactic murderer known as Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks the extermination of the gods, interrupts his retirement. Thor enlists the support of King Valkyrie, Korg, and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who, much to Thor’s surprise, wields his mystical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. They embark on a perilous cosmic journey together to unravel the secret surrounding the God Butcher’s revenge and stop him before it’s too late.

Tessa Thompson (Asgardian King Valkyrie), Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Jeff Goldblum (The Grandmaster), Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif), and Waititi himself as rock gladiator Korg are among the returning cast members. Gorr the God Butcher will be played by Christian Bale, and Zeus will be played by Russell Crowe.

Tom Hiddleston will not play Loki, the mischievous god, as he stated in a June 2021 interview. Although he died in “Avengers: Infinity War,” he is theoretically alive because the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse exists.

Luke Hemsworth, Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Melissa McCarthy have all been confirmed to play Thor, Loki, Odin, and Hela in an in-movie drama recreating the story of Asgard, respectively.

“Love and Thunder” is based on Jason Aaron’s comic book “The Mighty Thor,” in which Foster, who loved and broke up with Thor, assumed the role of Goddess of Thunder after the Mjolnir considered the Odinson unworthy and stripped him of his powers. Her breast cancer worsens every time she uses the hammer in the comics. However, it is unknown whether the film will follow the same plot.

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Jane Foster was first introduced as an astrophysicist in the 2011 film “Thor,” and she returned in 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World,” where she became Thor’s love interest. Portman is said to have quit the series because she was dissatisfied with the picture, specifically with the replacement of original director Patty Jenkins with Alan Taylor. Waititi appears to have persuaded the actress to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for this new project.

The Marvel feature, which was supposed to come out on May 6, has been postponed until later in the summer. Instead, the new “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” will be released on May 6. Thor’s new release date, July 8, was previously set for “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever,” but it has been pushed back until the winter. While it’s perplexing, Marvel fans are used to delays and revised dates, since the pandemic has affected and delayed many other films.

In September, “Thor: Love and Thunder” will most likely be available on Disney+. In the meanwhile, you can see “Moon Knight” on Netflix, and “Ms. Marvel” will be available on June 8.