Christian Bale believes that his Thor: Love and Thunder villain, Gorr the God Butcher, shares some similarities with his Batman. Succeeding the events of Avengers: Endgame, the latest outing for Thor (Chris Hemsworth) sees the titular God of Thunder attempting to move on from his career as one of Earth's mightiest heroes to a peaceful life. However, the arrival of Bale's Gorr forces the Avenger to team up with a number of old friends in order to defeat him. Along with the king of New Asgard, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Kronan gladiator Korg (Taika Waititi), Thor is also reunited with his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now wields Mjolnir after becoming the Mighty Thor.
Although Thor: Love and Thunder marks Bale's first foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actor made his superhero movie debut in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins as the DC vigilante. Reprising the role for its two sequels, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, the trilogy charted Bruce Wayne's career as Gotham's crime-fighting guardian from his earliest origins to his supposed death in defence of his beloved city. Battling a slew of villains along the way — from the Scarecrow and Ra's al Ghul, to the Joker and Bane — Nolan's movies also explored the psychological attributes of Bruce Wayne, presenting him as a more conflicted and morally-layered character than in previous Batman films.
Despite being at polar opposite ends of the comic book character spectrum, Bale thinks there are some similarities between Batman and Gorr. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, the actor discusses how both his hero and villain share "raging conflicts within them." He then elaborated on the "confusing sympathy" for Gorr, comparing this to Bruce Wayne's complicated "hero" identity, saying:
Exclusive: "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."
Bale's description of Batman no doubt refers to some of the more questionable actions the character took over the course of the Dark Knight trilogy. This includes refusing to save Ra's al Ghul from a derailing train in Batman Begins, to his propensity for ruthlessly beating up the criminals of Gotham City. What's more, the character's "darker emotions" are apparent in some of his more emotionally intense scenes, such as when he's interrogating the Joker or planning to kill his parents' murderer. Although not much is known yet about Bale's interpretation of Gorr, his hint that there is "some confusing sympathy" for the villain suggests that the character's backstory will make him somewhat relatable and understandable in his hatred for all gods.
The moral and psychological complexity of Batman is unquestionably one of the main reasons why the character, especially Bale's interpretation, has become so popular among both cinema-goers and comic book fans. Bale's cryptic account of his Marvel character confirms Love and Thunder director Taiki Waititi's statement that Gorr will be a sympathetic MCU villain. As such, this comparison of the two characters certainly feels justified in terms of their nuanced ethical outlooks and relatability. Audiences will be able to judge for themselves the real extent of Gorr and Batman's similarities when Thor: Love and Thunder finally releases on July 8.
