Natalie Portman Looks Like the “Red Swan” at Thor Screening

Natalie Portman is revisiting her role as Jane Foster for Thor: Love and Thunder, but on the red carpet of the film’s gala screening in London, her dress felt like it was instead channeling the Black Swan cinematic universe. With a short tutu-esque skirt and romantic roses adorning her hair, Portman looked as if she was ready to play the heretofore-unknown character of the “Red Swan” at a moment’s notice. Good thing she had her husband, Benjamin Millepied, a retired ballet dancer and current choreographer, by her side.

The dress appears to be a modified version of a look presented at Dior’s resort 2023 collection, which debuted on the runway just a few weeks ago. Originally presented with a maxi-skirt, the bottom was instead hiked up and puffed out to ballerina-appropriate proportions for Portman. She completed the look with minimal jewelry, subtle red heels, a bold red lip, and a bit of smokey eye (apparently she’ll leave the actual Black Swan-inspired eye makeup to Julia Fox).

Portman debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor back in 2011, approximately six weeks after she won her Oscar for Black Swan. Her character Jane, an astrophysicist, served as the love interest for the hammer-wielding titular Norse god. At the time, the burgeoning MCU was far from the mono-culture-defining box office force it’s since become. Portman returned for the sequel, Thor: The Dark World, in 2013, but then peaced out of the MCU for several years. Her only contribution since: providing new voiceover material for Avengers: Endgame in 2019. So Love and Thunder represents Portman’s proper return to the MCU, and it’s no spoiler to say that this time she serves as more than just a love interest. This go around, she winds up with both the hammer and the title of “Mighty Thor.”

Ballet inspiration or not, we guess it does make sense for Portman to offset her newly beefed-up role in the franchise with a decidedly feminine look on the red carpet.

Black Swan, of course, isn’t exactly the sort of film that needs a sequel. But something about the idea of Portman, Disney-owned franchises, and beautiful red dresses leaves us wondering whether she’ll ever return to her famous Star Wars role one day.