Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have further teased the terrifying performance by Christian Bale as the latest Marvel villain, Gorr the God Butcher. Speaking with The Direct, Hemsworth, who will reprise the role as the Asgardian God of Thunder, described how Bale would enter the scene and completely change the atmosphere from fun and funny to something “really scary.”
Much like Thor: Ragnarok before it, Thor: Love and Thunder is expected to once again imbue the MCU with all manner of comedy stylings, allowing the cast to improvise throughout. Hemsworth confirms this filming strategy but reveals that things would quickly change once Gorr the God Butcher walked on set, which should reassure Marvel fans aware of how vicious Gorr really is.
“The rest of us would be in our world of improvisation, comedy, and fun – then he’d walk on set, and we’d all look at each other and say ‘Oh, my God! This is really intense. This is really scary.’”
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Hemsworth’s co-star Tessa Thompson, who will return to the role of Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder, Bale was able to be both utterly terrifying and not feel out of place within the “colorful” world created by director Taika Waititi.
Footage of Gorr revealed in the recent trailer seems to suggest that, when Gorr is on the scene, the color will literally drain from the surroundings, and it is interesting to hear that Bale himself had this same impact while filming the Marvel sequel. Though Hemsworth did go on to reveal that, despite his reputation for committed “method” acting, Bale was “totally normal” in between scenes.
“(Bale) toed this really great line, because he needs to be terrifying, but he also needs to work in the context of our colorful, snappy, irreverent world.”
Gorr Will Butcher the Gods Across Time & Space in Thor: Love and Thunder
Marvel Studios
Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Bale’s penchant for intensity has seemingly been a huge success when playing Gorr, with Waititi describing hyping the impact of the MCU’s newest villain. “It’s a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie and The Mighty Thor,” he said. “And, in my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had in Christian Bale.”
Written and directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman, Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 8, 2022, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.
