While at a press conference for Thor that recently took place in London, headlining star Chris Hemsworth confirmed that Natalie Portman will be reprising her role of Jane Foster in next summer's epic Marvel superhero ensemble The Avengers.

When asked point blank if she was going to be in The Avengers, Chris Hemsworth said this (translated from Italian).

"Yes, Natalie will be playing (in The Avengers)."

Director Kenneth Branagh continued by talking about the relationship between Thor and Jane Foster, and how that might play out between the three Thor movies and the three The Avengers that are currently planned.

"(With a romance), it was something I wanted to enter into immediately. But then we thought it was better to keep that for any other film. I wanted to create a love triangle between her, Thor and Sif but in the end there was no space. I had to cut so many interesting characters, but the rest is my job, cut all that I can, and not enter into the relationship, and concentrate on the really important elements."

About shooing The Avengers, Chris Hemsworth said this.

"I'm going to get the final script, while I have read many drafts. We start shooting in May."