Christian Bale Set as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder!

December 10, 2020

After months of speculation of which villain in the god of thunder’s comic book history the Oscar winner would portray in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, with most believing him to be Balder the Brave,, Kevin Feige has officially confirmed that Christian Bale will actually star as Gorr the God Butcher!

Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale will join the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder as the villain Gorr the God Butcher. In theaters May 6, 2022. pic.twitter.com/fWS4UuP2oM

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

It was previously reported that Chris Pratt has signed on to join Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder, making Diesel the second confirmed Guardian to appear in Taika Waititi’s upcoming MCU film. Their official casting shouldn’t actually come as a shock with Diesel previously teasing earlier this year that “Thor will incorporate some of the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Thor: Love and Thunder will be directed by Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) on a script co-written by him and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Someone Great), which will be the followup to Waititi’s wildly successful 2017 sequel Thor: Ragnarok. Oscar-winner Natalie Portman is set to return as Jane and will now be wielding the mighty Mjolnir. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson will also return as Thor and Valkyrie, respectively. Academy Award winner Christian Bale (The Dark Knight trilogy) will portray the main antagonist in the film. The female Thor storyline is based on Jason Aaron’s run on “The Mighty Thor” in which a cancer-stricken Jane Foster takes up the mantle and powers of Thor.

Thor and Valkyrie were last seen in this year’s highest-grossing film of all time Avengers: Endgame, with the god of thunder entrusting his responsibilities as the King of Asgard to Valkyrie as he joins the Guardians of the Galaxy on their next mission. According to Vin Diesel, the Guardians might also make an appearance in the fourth Thor film.

Originally set to debut on November 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder will now be arriving in theaters on February 11, 2022.

(Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)