Marvel Studios
- Christian Bale will be starring as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder.
- The role is the Oscar winner’s first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Bale says he didn’t know what the “MCU” was when he signed on to join the film.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Thor: Love and Thunder — more than the inclusion of the Guardians of the Galaxy or the debut of Mighty Thor — is that none other than Christian Bale stars in the film as the primary antagonist, a character insanely and not-so-subtly named Gorr the God Butcher.
Given that Bale is one of Hollywood’s leading A-list actors, his arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a.k.a the MCU, is quite the seminal moment. Bale, though, apparently didn’t think it was all that much of a big deal, as he didn’t even know what the “MCU” was when he signed on for the role.
Christian Bale says he didn’t know what the “MCU” was when he agreed to star in Thor: Love and Thunder
“I’d read that, and people would go, ‘Oh, look at this! He’s entered the MCU!’ And I’d go, ‘I’ve done what? I haven’t entered shit, thank you very much.’ I’m like, ‘The MCU?’ I had to ask what that was.” [via Total Film]
While this is the type of mindset we’ve come to expect from the 48-year-old Academy Award winner, hearing this insight from him makes his upcoming portrayal of Gorr even more exciting as it suggests he took on the role because he was genuinely interested in the part and not necessarily becoming an MCU mainstay.
In addition to Bale and Chris Hemsworth, Thor: Love and Thunder — the second MCU film of 2022 following Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — stars Natalie Portman as the Mighty Thor, Russell Crowe as Zeus, and returning MCU stars Tessa Thomspon, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Jeff Goldblum, and Taika Waititi. The film will hit theaters in the United States on July 8.
Later this year, Marvel Studios will also release Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
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