Thor: Love and Thunder, if one can pardon the pun, has generated a lot of buzz; it’s electric, some might say. The reviews are coming in, and Thor saw love from early viewers. Under the direction of the talented Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, The Mandalorian), the film is said to be a hilarious and colorful romp comparable to its predecessor, Thor: Ragnarok, which Waititi also directed.

Given its near omnipresent hold on the contemporary media landscape, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has amassed its fair share of impressive acting talent. Within the world of Thor films specifically, there is no shortage of A-listers: Natalie Portman (Star War: Episode One– The Phantom Menace, V for Vendetta) returns as Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder, multiple-time Academy award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, The Remains of the Day) portrays Thor’s regal father Odin, Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings, The Boys) played the traitorous Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok, and in the same film, Cate Blanchett was Thor and Loki’s sister, the death goddess Hela.

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However, no actor garnered more excitement following their casting announcement in an Avengers installment than Christian Bale (Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Dark Knight Rises). Here are some of the reasons why everyone is excited to see Christian Bale play Gorr, the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Christian Bale’s Acting Chops

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Even amidst the aforementioned impressive movie stars that Marvel has amassed, Christian Bale might stand out as the best. He won an Academy Award for his performance as the drug-addicted former boxer Dick Eklund in 2010’s The Fighter. Previously, he made an early appearance in the DC cinematic universe when he played Batman in Christopher Nolan’s (Interstellar, Dunkirk) Dark Knight Trilogy.

RELATED: Christian Bale Explains Gorr’s Lack of Comic Accuracy in Thor: Love and Thunder

Gorr the God Butcher has shown to be a rather intense character. The creators of Thor: Love and Thunder knew that they needed to find a talented performer to embody this seraphim slayer, and Bale undoubtedly fits the bill. Though the newest installment in the Thor franchise, based on the early promotional materials and early reviews, it seems to be a worthy follow-up to its predecessor,

Thor: Ragnarok, it would behoove fans to remember that even the silly Ragnarok got incredibly serious at times. Christian Bale brings the bulk of his acting chops into portraying the murderous Gorr the God Butcher, and some of the fans’ favorite characters undoubtedly suffer as a result.

Gorr the God Butcher’s Anger With Empyrean Apathy

Gorr the God Butcher has a fascinating origin story, which is to be expected, given his terrifying moniker. Gorr hates gods because he lived the early part of his life on an utterly inhospitable planet, among a religious citizenry that constantly prayed for divine intervention.

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Said intervention never came, and when the originally atheistic Gorr, while in exile from his community for said beliefs, discovered that gods were real, just apathetic to the universe’s suffering, his anger exploded. From that point, Gorr the God Butcher vowed to rid the world of immortals, a mission he attempts to carry out, much to the chagrin of Thor and his loved ones in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Gorr’s Black Blade

There are plenty of reasons why the more casual wing of Marvel should be excited for Thor: Love and Thunder. However, it seems there are a fair few moments in the newest Thor installment sure to please even the most fickle of comic book fanatics, a demographic that has been somewhat underserved as the film franchise became increasingly mainstream.

Those who have read the comic books on which Thor: Love and Thunder is based will surely recognize the sword that Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher will be wielding. It is called All-Black the Necrosword, and it is the first symbiote in the Marvel universe. It is a pitch-black living organism that some fans might recognize as one of the creatures that overtook Eddie Brock in the 2018 film Venom. The blade is incredibly powerful, and it gives Christian Bale’s Gorr, who is mortal, the ability to decapitate even the most powerful figures in the Marvel universe.

Fortunately for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, almost every individual installment of the franchise comes with the promise of staggering financial return and widespread acclaim. As such, the superhero film, which might have remained the purview of unknown talents, has long been able to attract A-listers. Though Christian Bale has played a superhero before, his turn as Gorr the God Butcher represents his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as one of the strangest roles the serious actor has ever played.

Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters.