Avengers: Endgame is filled with cameos that range from shocking to heartbreaking. Most of them were created pretty much how you’d expect, with an actor physically on set to perform the role. However, one of those cameos was not like that — but to explain what that means requires touching on spoilers.
The surprise comes when Thor and Rocket travel back to the time and place of Thor: The Dark World to steal the Reality Stone, aka the Aether, from inside of Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman. Portman, an Oscar-winning superstar, hasn’t been featured in a Marvel movie since that 2013 sequel, but she appears again in Endgame. However, the maybe not-so-shocking twist is that Portman didn’t actually film anything new for the movie. The Russo Brothers used “leftover” footage from Thor: The Dark World for when you see her on screen.
She did, however, contribute something new.
“The voice,” co-director Joe Russo told Entertainment Weekly. “A little bit of voiceover when she’s talking in the distance, that’s it,” added his brother and co-director, Anthony Russo.
Portman also attended the film’s world premiere in Los Angeles, as seen in the below photo. Certainly, she’s got nothing against Marvel, but this just seemed like the easiest way for the busy performer to reprise her role.
Endgame is now in theatres. Obviously.