12 Near-Miss Castings That Almost Improved The Marvel Cinematic Universe

6. Gemma Arterton As Jane Foster - Thor

Gemma Arterton was considered for both the roles of Jane Foster and Sif and, while we can't fault Jaimie Alexander's role as the latter, we think she would have been better than Natalie Portman as Thor's Earth-based love interest. Portman is a great actress but you can't help thinking that her heart simply isn't in the role of Foster. Following her performance as Thor's love interest in the first Thor movie, she had reportedly expressed a desire not to continue and, while she was forced to due to her contract with Marvel Studios, she didn't really seem any more in to it than she was first time around. Arterton is younger, hungrier, every bit as sexy and has shown herself able to play kick-ass females in such movies as Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, so she can throw down in a role if required - which would make for an all the more interesting Jane Foster.