We already know that Natalie Portman won't be making an appearance as Jane Foster in THOR: RAGNAROK, but now Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has revealed to Entertainmen Weekly the reason why Foster won't be returning in Thor's latest adventure. It turns out that the answer is simple: they broke up.
It's a little anticlimactic, but not exactly surprising. When asked last year whether she was slated to appear in any future Marvel project, Natalie Portman said that "as far as I know, I’m done" with the MCU.
With Jane Foster out of the picture, Chris Hemsworth says that Thor is "off exploring the universe, still trying to police it and control the mayhem, but he’s certainly enjoying being a drifter, being a solo cowboy out there." Although it's not yet certain whether their relationship will be romantic in nature, Thor may not be a solo cowboy for long once he meets Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) on the planet of Sakaar. Kevin Feige explains:
We wanted Thor to encounter somebody that was near his equal and that his relationship with Jane may have evolved in unexpected ways in between The Dark World and Ragnarok and we wanted to pit him against a character who was much more his equal and in many ways his superior. Valkyrie is trying to not embrace any sort of Asgardian heritage that she has. Thor thinks maybe that will create a bond between them and, on the contrary, she wants to forget it all entirely.
THOR: RAGNAROK is set for a November 3, 2017 release.