New Thor: Love and Thunder concept art reveals an alternate design for Gorr the God Butcher before Christian Bale was cast. Director Taika Waititi reunited with Chris Hemsworth in the post-Infinity Saga MCU movie. Unlike Thor: Ragnarok, which was a smash critical and commercial hit, Thor: Love and Thunder has proved more divisive, with both audiences and critics having a wide array of opinions on the creative decisions made by Waititi and his team.

Despite some mixed reviews for certain elements of Thor: Love and Thunder, one thing that was unanimously praised was Bale's take on its villain, Gorr the God Butcher. Motivated by a personal tragedy, Gorr hunts down all gods in an effort to extinguish them. His murderous path causes him to encounter Thor, Jane Foster's Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman), and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). As with his other movie roles, Bale delivered a lauded performance as the new MCU character, with Marvel Studios largely sticking to the bad guy's original arc in the comics. Waititi, however, took some liberties when it comes to Gorr's appearance in live-action.

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Had things gone differently, however, Gorr the God Butcher would have appeared more similar to his print look in Thor: Love and Thunder. This was revealed in a concept art created by Jackson Sze, shared on Instagram. In the post's caption, the artist revealed that he created the illustration before Bale was cast in the role. Check out the image below:

Click Here To See The Original Post

This image certainly shows a very different depiction of Gorr than the one that ultimately made Thor: Love and Thunder's final cut. The artist's orignal Gorr design was much closer to his comic book appearance, including his somewhat lacking nose, the tendrils that come from the villain's neck, and his costume. Interestingly, when Gorr the God Butcher's first look was unveiled through tie-in merchandise and eventually via the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer, many viewers took issue with Gorr's MCU character design since it deviated significantly from his comic look. Ultimately, Waititi and Marvel decided to make Bale's iteration more understated and human-like, to allow the actor's performance to shine through.

Bale gave a strong performance as Gorr in Thor: Love and Thunder, but since he met his fate in the film, it's uncertain whether the character will ever be return to the MCU. If the God Butcher's appearances do stop here, it would prove disappointing to many who felt that the movie should have featured more of the villain, who was widely considered to be a nuanced and interesting MCU addition. Ultimately, the change in Gorr's comic book design in Thor: Love and Thunder didn't stop audiences from relating to and loving Bale's take, though it is always interesting to see what characters may have looked like had casting gone differently.

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Source: Jackson Sze/Instagram