10 Actors Who Won't Be Coming Back For Upcoming Sequels

5. Natalie Portman/Kat Dennings/Stellan Skarsgård - Thor: Ragnarok

Emily Blunt Sicario
Marvel

Natalie Portman was underserved in her role as astrophysicist Jane Foster in both Thor and Thor: The Dark World, which makes the fact that she won't be returning for the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok the least shocking news story of the year. "As far as I know, I’m done," she said on the subject, and even seems to have been replaced by a new love interest for Thor, played by actress Tessa Thompson. Scandalous.

Jane wasn't a particularly interesting part, though, especially for somebody as talented as Portman (who has an Oscar under her belt and deserves way better). Not to mention that she had zero chemistry with Chris Hemsworth.

In the wake of Jane being cut, though, Thor: Ragnarok has also eschewed two supporting characters who, up until now, have been series staples. Kat Dennings - who played Jane's comical assistant Darcy - and Stellan Skarsgård - who played Dr. Erik Selvig - aren't in the third film, either, much to the former's disappointment.

What It Means For The Film:

Natalie Portman never felt natural to the series anyway, and Marvel fans have been crying out for her to leave the franchise - for her own sake, at least - for years. As for Darcy and Selvig... well, given that Ragnarok is set in space, there presumably wasn't much room for characters like Darcy and Selvig to appear. They could certainly return for Infinity War, though, so this might not be goodbye forever.

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Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.