Natalie Portman Will Play the First Female Thor, and Women on Twitter Are Psyched

Natalie Portman showed up for a panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday (July 21) bearing some pretty huge news: Not only will she be coming back to the fourth installment in Marvel's Thor franchise, due out in 2021, but her role as Jane Foster will take a new turn. The announcement came after returning director Taika Waititi unveiled the Thor 4 logo and title, Love and Thunder. Also onstage? Chris Hemsworth—who's played Thor thus far in the Marvel franchise—and Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie.

“Feels pretty good. I’ve always had a little hammer envy,” Portman told the cheering crowd as she took up a replica of Thor's hammer, according to E!.

Hemsworth will also be coming back as Thor. And if that sounds confusing, we have the source material in the original Marvel series to look to: This development is from a 2014 plotline in the comic books, Buzzfeed explains, where Thor renounces his hammer and name after losing his superpowers. Jane Foster—Portman's character, whom she also played in 2011's Thor and 2013's Thor: The Dark World—takes over his hammer Mjolnir, eventually transforming into Thor, the Goddess of Thunder. So if you're familiar with the comic books, you might have seen this coming at some point.

Still, that doesn't make it any less exciting. After the news broke, women headed to Twitter to express just how psyched they were about seeing female Thor on screen—and Portman playing her.

"NATALIE PORTMAN AS FEMALE THOR! I AM: DECEASED," one wrote.

Others were a little surprised, given Portman had previously said she was "done" with Marvel in 2016—but she seems to have changed her mind.

Portman also shared the news in an Instagram post featuring her wielding Thor's hammer onstage. "So thrilled to share the news with you today at #sdcc2019 that I’ll be returning to the @marvel #mcu as female Thor with legends @taikawaititi @tessamaethompson and @chrishemsworth. (Remember this as the before picture for when I get jacked)," she wrote in the caption.

Thor: Love and Thunder will be awesome for another reason: Thompson said at the Comic-Con panel that Vaklyrie, who will be back as King of Asgard, would be looking for a "queen." As BuzzFeed pointed out, Thompson had pitched the character as being bisexual, so it's very possible that Valkyrie might just be Marvel's first openly LGBTQ+ superhero.

Thor: Love and Thunder will be in theaters November 5, 2021.

Originally Appeared on Glamour