Following this week's Multiversal madness from Doctor Strange 2, Marvel Studios will move further into the promotional tour for July's Thor: Love and Thunder. As has been the case with every Marvel outing in Phase 4, Thor 4 boasts an all-star team of cast members, including high-profile newcomers such as Christian Bale's villainous Gorr the God Butcher.
Over the first 16 months after the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios has brought a new round of incredible villains to follow up on Thanos' efforts in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. From Agatha Harkness in WandaVision to Willem Dafoe's return as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel's former supposed villain problem has been solved multiple times over.
Now, after bringing the role of Batman to life in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale moves to Marvel to take on arguably one of the most terrifying big bads in MCU history for Thor 4. With only a couple of months left until Bale makes his MCU debut, director Taika Waititi has teased what fans should expect from this movie's main villain.
Thor 4 Director on Christian Bale
Speaking with AP News, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi shared his feelings on Christian Bale's villainous Gorr the God Butcher.
While praising the group containing Thor, Korg, Valkyrie, and The Mighty Thor, he calls Bale's antagonist the best that's ever been used in a Marvel Studios film:
“It’s a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie and The Mighty Thor. And, in my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had in Christian Bale.”
He also teased what Chris Hemsworth's Thor is going through in this movie as he tries to "figure out his purpose" and work through something of a "midlife crisis:"
“Thor is just trying to figure out his purpose, trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he’s a hero or whether he should be a hero. I guess you could call it a midlife crisis.”
Christian Bale Lives Up to Marvel Standard
Christian Bale is certainly no slouch in the acting department, known for his passion to fully embody any role he takes even outside of the superhero genre. Having won an Oscar for his performance in 2010's The Fighter - an award that both Taika Waititi and Natalie Portman from this film boast - he has the resume and the talent to bring that kind of performance to any role he takes.
The character alone, Gorr the God Butcher, has a chance to be one of Marvel's most terrifying and compelling villains yet due to his history with Marvel's Gods, which are set to see plenty of spotlight this year. This will allow Bale to dive into the emotional side of a character that's already immensely powerful as Marvel's first true symbiote, and with the actor's well-known history in films, Waititi is expecting him to bring an iconic performance.
For now, fans wait for the first true look at Bale's big bad, especially since he was nowhere to be seen in Thor 4's first trailer a couple of weeks ago. Marvel could be keeping Bale's role more secretive than usual to make sure he has the biggest impact possible, but it's clear that fans are already looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
Thor: Love and Thunder will debut in theaters on July 8.
