Tweeted by director Bryan Singer. What did you think I meant? (MTV)

Okay, so this didn’t literally break Tumblr. The site didn’t go down, but… Well, we’ll talk more about that later. I’m prepared to enjoy this teaser with one reservation. Thor is still an affable lunkhead who’ll just zip his girlfriend off to another dimension without much warning; Sif is still a badass; and the opening image of the trailer, which, while minor, I don’t want to spoil, is conceptually fascinating. I do wish this teaser didn’t make such a damsel out of Jane Foster as it appears to. For now, in the absence of more evidence, I’ll trust that her character’s role has been necessarily diminished by the contraints of making a snappy trailer, especially considering Natalie Portman‘s efforts to shake up the behind the scenes gender imbalance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which Marvel has apparently made “concessions” towards.

Also, I may have been distracted by Loki. You’ll understand what I mean when you watch it.

Even though Natalie Portman may not have been thrilled to return for Thor: The Dark World, her character Jane is going on quite the adventure. Hit the jump for the official plot synopsis as well as a few details on Jane’s journey to Asgard.

Like them or not, Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart have one good thing going for them, at least as far as the production side of making movies is concerned: According to Forbes’ annual list of “Hollywood’s Best Actors For The Buck,” they’re the two most bankable stars around.

With the news that Hugo Weaving isn’t particularly attached to his role as Red Skull, or superhero movies in general, and is not angling to get let back into the Captain America franchise, comes an offhand reference by TGDaily that Natalie Portman was recently ‘forced’ to adhere to her multi-movie contract as the titular god’s love interest for Thor 2. It’s a bit of a flimsy piece of evidence of strain between the actor and the movie studio, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

It’s been almost a year since we visited this story, but Portman was known to not really be enthusiastic about filming Thor 2, and especially not after the studio fired her recommended choice for director, Patty Jenkins, who would have been the first woman to direct a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Adding another notch on her producer’s belt, Natalie Portman is set to produce and star in the Western Jane Got a Gun, which will be directed by Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin). The story follows a woman with an “outlaw husband” on the run from some nasties, and it’s her job to stop them from murdering him. So, a western being produced and directed by women, starring a woman who doesn’t need to be saved. We’re listening, Ms. Portman and Ms. Ramsay. You have our attention.

Marvel has found someone with epic credentials to direct Thor 2 — Alan Taylor, best known for directing episodes of HBO‘s Game of Thrones, will take over for Patty Jenkins, who departed the project earlier this month. Taylor was one of two directors in the final running to take over the superhero sequel, ultimately beating out Daniel Minahan, who also directed episodes of Game of Thrones. But what the world is surely going to wonder now is whether or not this will please Natalie Portman.

Seems we’re not the only ones upset at the firing of Patty Jenkins from the set of Thor 2. According to the reliable Hollywood Reporter, star Natalie Portman is giving Marvel a piece of her mind. So much so that even though she’s contractually obligated to the movie, Marvel is making concessions “Marvel is now said to be working overtime to smooth over the situation by including her in discussions about whom to hire as a replacement.”

Why so serious, Natalie? Well, it turns out Portman pushed for Jenkins’ hiring in the first place as a feature that would keep her enthusiastically in the production.

It’s been a veritable carousel of suitors for the supernatural literary mashup, and now the third director to sign on to the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has stepped down. Craig Gillespie has reportedly passed on the film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith‘s novel, citing a disagreement about casting. The rumor is that they’re looking for an A-lister to play the lead role of Elizabeth Bennett. We’re kind of curious about who Gillespie had in mind that Lionsgate didn’t want, and vice versa. But why is this project such a chronic reject-a-thon? Are we … over zombies?

After a bit of speculation, Marvel Studios has made it official: Patty Jenkins has been confirmed to be the director of Thor 2, making her the first woman to direct a movie for the studio. Jenkins has a powerful body of work already, having directed the Aileen Wuornos docudrama Monster, which won Charlize Theron an Oscar. However, this will be the first big-budget outing for Jenkins, making this a big step for female directors.