Thor: Love and Thunder is set to feature the MCU debut of Gorr the God Butcher, a villain who has a pure hatred of gods. The character, who is portrayed by Christian Bale, has been a consistent figure in the sequel's marketing ahead of its July premiere, and a good chunk of the promos have already revealed the villain's creepy design and his passion for killing gods.
Aside from those, Gorr's minions had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance in one of Thor 4's trailers, thus leading to different theories about their connection to Venom. In Marvel Comics, Gorr actually has a direct link to the popular anti-hero, and this was the main reason why diehard fans are pointing out the possible connection in the MCU.
Now, a new clip has emerged, further adding more evidence that the MCU's Gorr could have a potential tie to Venom.
Thor 4 Features Venom-Like Villain
IGN shared a new clip from Thor: Love and Thunder, showcasing a first full look at Gorr the God Butcher's minions.
The footage starts with a surprised Thor due to the return of Mjolnir, with the weapon blasting through one of the scary villains. The clip ends with Jane Foster's Mighty Thor as she shows off the impressive new powers of Mjolnir to the God of Thunder.
The creature's design has spider-like legs and white-jagged teeth similar to Venom:
Gorr's terrifying minion, which resembles the Black Berserker design from the comics, has black slimy skin as well:
As a result of these similarities, some fans have theorized that these minions have a connection to Venom. In the comics, the creatures are created from Gorr's weapon, the Necrosword, which is a sword wielded by the creator of the symbiote, Knull:
Love and Thunder's teaser trailer already showed a glimpse of the Black Berserker, but this full look managed to reveal more of the Venom-like features of Thor's new adversary.
The clip can be seen below:
Will Thor 4 Include an Actual Venom Reference?
It is unknown if the MCU's Gorr will actually have a direct tie to Venom, but it's possible that the symbiote could be referenced in some form due to the presence of the Necrosword. However, the fact that Marvel Studios doesn't own the rights to Venom and symbiotes in general already presents a problem.
Still, the MCU has a long history of not following the comics that ultimately worked for the certain narrative of the project.
Based on the design above, some fans have theorized that Marvel Studios moved away from the symbiote connection since the creatures are more insectoid-like and have eyes. As pointed out by Twitter user @MaximilanMarvel, the Black Berserkers could originate from the Shadow Realm, a location that was already confirmed to be featured in the movie.
If the symbiote origins of the Necrosword are scrapped, the user revealed that the next best bet for the sword's power is Chaos King Amatsu-Mikaboshi, who is a character that has the same black amorphous appearance as Gorr's minions.
Given the importance of Gorr's weapon, it's reasonable to assume that Thor 4 will address its origins one way or another. That said, the MCU has a few options on how it will explain how it became a powerful weapon to slay gods.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to premiere in theaters on July 8.
