Los Angeles, Jul 27 (IANS): Actress Natalie Portman says she is very excited to take on the avatar of Mighty Thor in an upcoming instalment of the superhero franchise.

The Oscar-winning actress is set to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Thor: Love and Thunder". The film sees her become the first female to play the superhero Thor.

According to Portman, her version of Thor is not considered ‘Lady Thor' but rather ‘The Mighty Thor', reports people.com.

"She's actually The Mighty Thor," the actress told Serena Williams in a recent Instagram Live session.

"The comics had the female Thor when Jane becomes Thor, and she's The Mighty Thor," she added.

Portman explained to Williams that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming film has yet to start production.

"We haven't started. More time to get jacked. Which I have not. I've got the carbo-loading down, but not the exercise part," the actress said.

Despite production delays, Portman said that she is "very excited" for the film, which will begin shooting in Australia in early 2021.

"Obviously everything is weird because of pandemic time, who knows what's happening. It will be exciting and I'm interested to see if I can gain muscle," she said.

The actress also spoke about her favourite Marvel character -- Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, who will also appear in "Thor: Love and Thunder".

"Major love for that woman," she said of Thompson.

During the chat, Portman also opened up about her hopes for the future, specifically for her three-year-old daughter Amalia.

"I just want there to be every opportunity. You're fighting for different ways of being a female athlete. In my profession, there's different ways of being a female actress. We have the opposite thing, we're like expected to frilly. You know, that everyone has the most possibility of being their truest self," she said.