In case you missed it, there have been some big updates on the Thor: Love and Thunder front. Over the last few days, Thor 4 director Taika Waititi and star Natalie Portman have shared some insights on where things stand with the script and when filming is expected to start. In a year starved of both Marvel movies and teases from the sets of upcoming Phase Four titles, these Thor 4 updates are much-needed.

The first update comes courtesy of Portman, who casually revealed Thor 4 is set to start filming at the beginning of 2021. Portman shared the update while chatting with Serena Williams during an Instagram Live chat for Williams' Serena clothing brand over the weekend. At one point in the brief conversation,  Portman remarked, "We're shooting in Australia at the beginning of next year."

thor-4-natalie-portman-chris-hemsworth
Image via Marvel Studios

The second update comes from Waititi, who opened up about where he was on the writing front. Speaking with BBC News, Waititi said, "I think it's going really good. We've been writing the script off and on for over a year and... actually, this week, doing another pass on it," and went on to say the script for Thor 4 is "so insane" and "also very romantic," expanding on the romance note by explaining: "I want to make something that I've never done or never cared for. I would like to attack something like that."

It's been a year since Thor: Love and Thunder was officially announced at Comic-Con 2019. At the time, we learned Portman would be returning to the MCU as Jane Foster and, even better, would likely be taking on the Thor mantle. Additionally, Thor faves Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson will be back as Thor and Valkyrie, respectively. Meanwhile, Collider confirmed the news back in March that Christian Bale will play the Thor: Love and Thunder villain. Who that villain is, we still don't know!

Thor: Love and Thunder is currently scheduled for release on March 25, 2022. Before you go, sure you're updated on all Phase Four movie release dates and what's going on in the MCU.

Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. You can follow them on Twitter @_matineeidle.