WandaVision's Kat Dennings Thanks Natalie Portman For Enlarging Her Thor Role

WandaVision might be an unusual start to the MCU's Phase 4, but the Disney+ series has already cemented its place as the franchise's most unique project to date due to its sitcom-based approach and a treasure chest of mysteries. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the show's basic premise is based on Wanda's inspiration of a normal life with Vision, with both of them living as a married couple in a suburban town named Westview. 

The first three episodes managed to establish that not everything is what it seems, and the preview for “Episode 4" is poised to reveal a lot more when it arrives on the streaming platform. Aside from the peculiar nature of Wanda's fabricated reality, several MCU characters, both new and returning, are expected to play major roles in terms of uncovering the secrets of Westview. 

One of those characters is Kat Dennings' Darcy Lewis. The intern, who was last seen in 2013's Thor: Dark the World, will make her triumphant MCU return in WandaVision, but details about her role are still being kept under wraps. Despite that, it was recently revealed in the latest promo that Lewis is currently working for S.W.O.R.D. 

While fans wait for the eventual reveal of Darcy's bigger role in the inaugural MCU Disney+ series, a new interview takes a look back at Denning's journey in the monumental franchise. 

A SOLID MCU FRIENDSHIP

In the latest episode of the Keep It podcast from Crooked Media, Kat Dennings explained how her friendship with her co-star Natalie Portman helped in terms of expanding the role of Darcy Lewis in 2011's Thor. When asked about the process of working with Portman, Dennings revealed that they were actually friends even before working for the MCU film, unveiling that they met through a “random connection:”

"We were actually friends before Thor. Randomly, um, this is a long time ago, we were like...we met through a random connection, and she's so great. And we just hit it off, and she's lovely and wonderful. And then, I didn't know she was in Thor. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know who I was."

Then, the conversation shifted to her role as Darcy in the aforementioned MCU project. The 2 Broke Girls actress admitted that her role was only for “two scenes” in the 2011 film:

“What's interesting is...and Thor was like 10 years ago, so I don't think they'll mind if I talk about this. In the rehearsal process, because for Thor, this is like his story so it was like really you have to create and it's very complicated. For anyone who knows the Thor stuff, it's like Norse. There [are] gods. There's stuff. There [are] rainbow things, and you have to make it grounded somehow so there's a lot of rehearsal for the actors.

The writer[s] and Marvel people will come to the rehearsals and just watch us interact and say the lines. My part, Darcy, was originally, like, two scenes, and she was literally just an intern, just there to kind of bounce off other people. It was the best day of my life. I could not believe these people hired me and like I duped them somehow [to hire] me.

Dennings says that her “friendship magic” with Portman became a major part of her expanded role, ultimately leading to Darcy becoming “more involved” in the plot:

And because Natalie and I are already friends, I remember this exactly. I walk in the room and I'm very shy. I came in and I sat down and Natalie hadn't gotten there yet and everyone was so nice. Natalie came in and sat on my lap because we're friends. I think our friendship started to infect them [like] its purity and love. Slowly, Darcy became more involved, and I was like 'why are they adding me to scenes?'

That's kind of what happened. If I am being honest, friendship magic is the reason I'm here today. “

MORE DARCY AFTER WANDAVISION?

It's always fascinating to hear behind-the-scenes stories from major MCU stars, and this latest one from Dennings is clearly an impressive one. It's quite surprising that Darcy was only included in “two scenes” from Thor, but it's a good thing that her role was revamped, all thanks to Dennings' amazing friendship with Natalie Portman. 

It seems that the decision of the higher-ups about the character's role expansion was a good one since the chemistry between Dennings and Portman was apparent during their two-film stint for the MCU. More so, Darcy also became a clear-cut fan-favorite due to her comedic banter with the rest of the cast. 

Part of the fun of the interconnected storytelling of the MCU is the fact that no one really knows who will show up in the upcoming projects. When it was announced that Dennings was returning as Darcy for WandaVision, fans were surprised about the character's inclusion, leaving everyone to wonder how she would fit in the alternate reality world of the show. 

Thankfully, it appears that Darcy is a natural fit to the otherworldly shenanigans of WandaVision, considering her experience and expertise that she gained from keeping tabs with the God of Thunder in the past.

It will be interesting to find out if Darcy will pop up in Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder due to the involvement of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster in that film. In a way, it makes narrative sense for Darcy to show up in a cameo since it's her job in S.W.O.R.D. to monitor any disturbance that could have a major impact on Earth. 

If anything, it looks like Dennings is up for an inevitable reunion down the line, and the “friendship magic” will not be needed anymore because the plot now demands it.