Director Taika Waititi thinks Christian Bale's new villain in Thor: Love and Thunder might be the best big bad the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever seen.
When asked about the movie, Waititi had only words of praise for the ensemble of characters, but he reserved his highest praise for Bale's take on Gorr the God Butcher. "It's a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie and The Mighty Thor," Waititi told AP. "And, in my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel's ever had in Christian Bale."
Gorr was created by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic and made his debut in 2012's Thor: God of Thunder #2. He was born on a planet with no name and suffered a harsh childhood full of near starvation and the death of his loved ones. Although raised to trust and believe in the gods, Gorr lost faith in them due to his hardships and was banished from his people for his lack of faith and belief in their existence. During his banishment, Gorr discovered the gods did exist when he saw two of them fighting and picked up one of the god's weapons. With All-Black the Necrosword and its powers, Gorr began his crusade of vengeance against the gods that never helped him.
So far, none of the promotional trailers or still images released for Thor: Love and Thunder have featured Bale as Gorr, instead focusing on the rest of the main and supporting characters. To that end, fans were confused and amused by a recent image that showed Waititi's Korg with what appeared to be a mustache upon his rocky face.
As well as Bale and Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder will star Chris Hemsworth in the lead role, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, and Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie. The cast of Guardians of the Galaxy will also be joining the fray, and Guardians writer/director James Gunn says he had a degree of input on how his characters will be used. "I asked for some things to be adjusted and they were adjusted," Gunn said of the Thor script.
Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8.
Source: AP