Who Christian Bale plays in Thor: Love and Thunder. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is revisiting Thor, the God of Thunder, as he goes on another adventure. He’s joined by Valkyrie and Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor as he battles a terrifying villain that he has never before faced. Bale’s antagonist is never mentioned by name in the second trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, so who is he exactly?
Bale has had one of the most engaging and diverse acting careers. He’s played a range of characters — from Patrick Bateman in American Psycho to Dicky Eklund in The Fighter and Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy to former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice. In an interesting turn, Bale has joined the MCU as the primary villain Thor will face. Bale joined the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder in early 2020 and, while his role was kept under wraps for a while, it was later confirmed he would be playing Gorr the God Butcher.
In the second trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God Butcher is very clear about his disdain for the gods, including Thor. His goal is to kill all of the gods because he saw them as useless, unhelpful beings who only created chaos and did not help anyone but themselves. This, of course, puts him at odds with Thor, Valkyrie and Mighty Thor in the film. Gorr’s desire for killing the gods is what earned him his title of “the God Butcher.” Bale’s iteration of Gorr the God Butcher is akin to his look in the comics: His skin is a pale gray and he’s bald, though the comics version looks less humanoid and more alien. Gorr draws his powers from the All-Black sword, which was created by Knull, the God of the Symbiotes (one of which joined with Venom). This gives Gorr the ability to create shadow berserkers, which he uses in his plans to kill the gods.
In the comics, Gorr came from a planet that had a lot of faith in the gods despite not having much in the way of resources. After his mother, partner, and child’s deaths, Gorr the God Butcher stopped believing in the gods altogether, abandoning his faith because he didn’t think gods would leave him and his people behind if they did exist. He is banished from his planet for his lack of faith. When he discovers the gods are real, Gorr the God Butcher makes it his sole purpose to kill all of them because they refused to help his family and his people when they needed them the most. Gorr is ultimately killed by Thor using two Mjolnirs, which suggests the same will happen in Thor: Love and Thunder. Only this time, Thor won’t be alone and he’ll have the help of Mighty Thor, who now wields his original weapon.
Gorr the God Butcher is a formidable foe for Thor, who has yet to battle anyone who genuinely hates the gods and what they stand for. It’s possible Gorr’s hatred will allow Thor to look inward and question his own actions in the past. It might even put the God of Thunder on the path towards self-discovery and reflection as he enters a new stage in his life. Whatever the case, the MCU films have long had a slew of fascinating villains and Gorr’s presence in Thor: Love and Thunder will surely leave a strong impression.
