Thor: Love and ThunderstarsChris Hemsworthand Tessa Thompson have further teased the terrifying performance byChristian Baleas the latest Marvel villain, Gorr the God Butcher. Speaking withThe Direct, Hemsworth, who will reprise the role as the Asgardian God of Thunder, described how Bale would enter the scene and completely change the atmosphere from fun and funny to something “really scary.”
“The rest of us would be in our world of improvisation, comedy, and fun – then he’d walk on set, and we’d all look at each other and say ‘Oh, my God! This is really intense. This is really scary.'”
Much likeThor: Ragnarokbefore it,Thor: Love and Thunderis expected to once again imbue the MCU with all manner of comedy stylings, allowing the cast to improvise throughout. Hemsworth confirms this filming strategy but reveals that things would quickly change once Gorr the God Butcher walked on set, which should reassure Marvel fans aware of how vicious Gorr really is.
Hemsworth’s co-starTessa Thompson, who will return to the role of Valkyrie inThor: Love and Thunder, Bale was able to be both utterly terrifying and not feel out of place within the “colorful” world created by director Taika Waititi.
“(Bale) toed this really great line, because he needs to be terrifying, but he also needs to work in the context of our colorful, snappy, irreverent world.”
Footage of Gorr revealed in the recent trailerseems to suggest that, when Gorr is on the scene, the color will literally drain from the surroundings, and it is interesting to hear that Bale himself had this same impact while filming the Marvel sequel. Though Hemsworth did go on to reveal that, despite his reputation for committed “method” acting, Bale was “totally normal” in between scenes.
Gorr Will Butcher the Gods Across Time & Space inThor: Love and Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunderfinds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Bale’s penchant for intensity has seemingly been a huge success when playing Gorr, with Waititi describing hyping the impact of the MCU’s newest villain. “It’s a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie and The Mighty Thor,” he said. “And, in my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had in Christian Bale.”
Written and directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman,Thor: Love and Thunderis scheduled to be released in the United States on June 27, 2025, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.
