Thor: Love and Thunder lands in cinemas in roughly a week and a half, and Marvel fans from all over are buzzing over Chris Hemsworth’s next outing as the god of thunder. In the film, Thor finds himself in the middle of a midlife crisis, all while reconnecting with his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster, who is now taking up the mantle of the Mighty Thor.
But it’s the MCU debut of Christian Bale that has moviegoers talking the most; his performance as Gorr the God Butcher has led to many claims that he ranks among the best villains the MCU has ever seen, and we all eagerly await the opportunity to decide that for ourselves.
Bale is no stranger to comic book films, having famously portrayed Batman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight series of films, and, in an interview with ScreenRant, the storied actor revealed some surprising similarities between these two roles, most notably the inner conflict that either character carries with them.
“Well, they’re both characters, as you just said, where there is some confusing sympathy for such a monster as Gorr and certainly some understanding. And likewise, Batman is not such an out and out hero as many others. There’s an urge for him to take the easier route, letting his darker emotions take over. That’s the great, fascinating conflict within Batman himself. The two of them do have these raging conflicts within them.”
If Bale’s portrayal is anywhere near the masterclass he put on under Nolan’s direction, audiences will be in for a treat when Gorr the God Butcher faces Hemsworth’s Thor when Thor: Love and Thunder releases to cinemas on July 8.