Earlier in 2020, director Taika Waititi’s Marvel Studios follow-up Thor: Love and Thunder was rumored to be bringing on Academy Award winning actor/former DC Comics employee Christian Bale. Speculation ran rampant as to who the former Batman would be portraying, and everyone from Beta Ray Bill to Mephisto came up in the grand old guessing game that ensued. Well, the game is up tonight, as it’s been confirmed and announced that Bale will be playing none other than Gorr the God Butcher in the fourth Thor feature.
In the flurry of Marvel announcements that came from the TV and movies side of the house, Thor: Love and Thunder received this pretty big boost amidst the chaos. While we knew that Christian Bale was going to be in the film, thanks to confirmation from co-star Tessa Thompson, we now have a more exact bead of what we should expect from Bale in the third Thor sequel. You can check out the official announcement on the Marvel Twitter page below:
So who exactly is Gorr the God Butcher, other than an imposing sounding villain? Well, originating from the pages of Thor: God of Thunder in 2013, Gorr is an alien from an unnamed world who lost his entire family, as well as his faith that gods could exist as a result. So when he found out that they actually were out there in the universe, he decided he was going to rearrange the world to map up with his previous thinking… violently.
This sort of imposing villain is exactly the sort of method role that Christian Bale could sink his teeth into for Thor: Love and Thunder. Not to mention the fact that his weapon “All-Black the Necrosword” is connected to the Celestial mythology we’re about to experience in Eternals, you can bet the crossover potential is strong with this one. And the more we read about this guy, the more we’re suddenly wondering if the reunion between Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster will be more of a work trip than a romantic getaway.
Marvel Studios has always been a hard working part of the Disney machinery ever since it was first purchased more than a decade ago. With a new age of storytelling dawning, and the need for compelling narratives to build the future ever stronger, Thor: Love and Thunder feels ready to bring ample quantities of both to the MCU. And seeing Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman potentially face off against Christian Bale together sounds about right for one of those fine future frontiers.
Thor: Love and Thunder will strike theaters on February 11, 2022 – which is a long time from now, but there’s still plenty of Marvel Cinematic Universe fun to enjoy between now and then. But, of course, you can see what else is on the horizon for a theater near you, courtesy of our 2021 release schedule, which will includes some of those MCU delights.
