Christian Bale is set to make his debut as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder, and a look at the character shows the MCU is avoiding two major issues with the villain. The Thor sequel, which will heavily borrow elements from the Mighty Thor comic book storyline through Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, also features members of the Guardians of the Galaxy working alongside Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder. However, the incorporation of Gorr remains equally as intriguing. Bale's casting was confirmed in December 2020 during Marvel Studios' repeated release date shufflings for Phase 4.

Though not much is known about Gorr the God Butcher's role in Thor: Love and Thunder, it has been confirmed that the supervillain will play the movie's primary antagonist. Unlike previous villains featured in the MCU, Gorr the God Butcher's comic book history isn't a long one. In fact, the character didn't make his Marvel Comics debut until Thor: God of Thunder in 2012. Gorr was said to have grown up on a desolate planet, believing gods existed to help those in need. After his loved ones died and his home planet that was never rescued, Gorr became disillusioned with gods, vowing to kill any he could find, including Thor. Aside from his superhuman abilities, the villain was known to possess All-Black the Necrosword, the first symbiote that took the shape of a sword, in addition to an army of "shadow berserkers."

Related: Thor: How Powerful Is Gorr's Sword Compared To Mjolnir & Stormbreaker?

While the public is still waiting for a Thor: Love and Thunder trailer to release, recent promotional materials revealed Gorr the God Butcher's appearance in the movie. The promotional art from an action figure shows Bale's version of the new MCU villain, featuring the character holding his infamous weapon, All-Black the Necrosword. More importantly, the first-look image reveals that Thor: Love and Thunder is avoiding multiple issues with the character, with the first being Gorr's striking resemblance to Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. Like Voldemort, Gorr the God Butcher's design has him grey-skinned with deep eyes and a flattened nose. The two are also known for wearing darkened capes or robes. However, the MCU dodged the possibility of similarities by giving Bale's Gorr more human features, especially in the face.

Gorr the God Butcher Lord Voldemort

In addition, Thor: Love and Thunder bypassed any problems that could have lost Bale completely in his Gorr the God Butcher transformation. Big-named actors are often cast in major franchise films for them to be unrecognizable in their portrayals, whether through prosthetics or necessary CGI. This situation often happens in Marvel movies, especially in villains such as Josh Brolin's Thanos, Christopher Eccleston's Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, and arguably, Oscar Isaac's X-Men: Apocalypse character; all of whom played vital villains, but the actors aren't always remembered for their respective characters since they looked drastically different than the figure they brought to life.

Instead, the MCU opted for a version of Gorr that still resembles Bale, with white-ish grey skin and a bald head, which matches set photos of Bale's Gorr from August 2021. This method follows that of Ronan the Accuser from Guardians of the Galaxy, who served as the Marvel villain while still incorporating Lee Pace's recognizable facial features. Alongside Gorr's facial features, Thor: Love and Thunder also seems to be taking liberties with the rest of the character's physical appearance, giving him scars along his arms and head as well as a white robe-like outfit.

While Thor: Love and Thunder's promotional image may have eased some worries in regards to potential issues connected to Gorr the God Butcher's portrayal, Bale's character has yet to be seen in action. Art and promotional materials are one thing, but seeing a character in live-action can greatly change perspectives. Without a Thor: Love and Thunder trailer, or any footage for that matter, one cannot fully judge Gorr the God Butcher's presence, even if it's reassuring to know the movie is featuring Bale and not a Lord Voldemort look-alike.

More: Will Love & Thunder Kill Off Chris Hemsworth's Thor?

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