According to the stars of Thor: Love and Thunder, Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher will cause audiences to empathize with the villain as well as hate him.
During an interview with Fandango that was posted to Twitter, Thor star Chris Hemsworth and Valkyrie actor Tessa Thompson spoke highly of Bale's Gorr and his motivations. Hemsworth pointed out that classic villains such as Gorr always make the audience empathize with their point of view and force the audience to ask similar questions as the antagonist, instead of being a "stock standard" evil. "You root for them sometimes," Thompson clarified. "Which is great if you're playing the hero and everyone's rooting for the villain," Hemsworth added dryly.
Gorr's motivation for becoming a butcher of gods comes from a series of personal tragedies and hardships that the character has faced at the hands of the gods. According to Hemsworth, this gives Gorr a very "truthful motivation" that audiences can understand, even if they don't agree with his methods. It's also a challenge for Thor, because there are truths hidden in Gorr's questions but if Gorr isn't stopped, he could destroy the universe. "That, I think, makes this a greater dynamic and not as predictable as the straightforward good guy vs. bad guy scenario we've seen before," said Hemsworth.
The trailers for Love and Thunder showcase the lighter tone expected from a Taika Waititi-directed Thor movie, but also a darker and more threatening atmosphere whenever Gorr is seen on screen. This contrast was even felt by the actors whenever Bale walked on set as Gorr. "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,'" Hemsworth recalled.
As well as Thor's battles with Gorr, Love and Thunder also promises to answer the question of why Thor and Jane Foster ended their relationship. Previous Marvel movies haven't given a definitive reason for why the God of Thunder and Jane called it quits and instead left it open to interpretation. However, in Love and Thunder, the breakup will be shown in a series of flashbacks that Hemsworth calls "some of the funniest stuff in the film."
Thor: Love and Thunder will premiere in theaters on July 8.
Source: Twitter