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Natalie Portman Will Be The First Female Thor

 (CNN) -- Welcome, Ms. Portman, to the league of Marvel Cinematic Universe superheroes.

Natalie Portman is making a comeback to the MCU's "Thor" franchise, but this time she gets her own shot at swinging the hammer. That's right, Lady Thor is here, and she's ready to bring the thunder.

Marvel announced Saturday at Comic-Con International in San Diego that Portman would play a female Thor in the fourth installment of the franchise, titled "Thor: Love and Thunder."

The movie, co-starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, will be directed by Taika Waititi and released in November 2021.

Portman previously romanced Hemsworth as astrophysicist Jane Foster in 2011's "Thor" and 2013's "Thor: The Dark World," although she did not appear in 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok."

This time she'll join Hemsworth in doing the superhero heavy lifting.

"I've always had hammer envy," Portman joked, according to Variety.

Marvel announced a host of other movie projects at its Comic-Con panel Saturday, including the long-awaited "Black Widow," "Eternals," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," and a reboot of "Blade," with Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali taking over the Wesley Snipes role.

The new slate of films place greater emphasis on superheroes who are female and people of color, bringing fresh excitement to a Marvel world still adapting to life after Iron Man and the OG "Avengers."

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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