The Dark Knight may be heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to recent reports, former Batman actor Christian Bale is currently in talks with Marvel Studios for a mystery role in next year's Thor: Love and Thunder. Speculation immediately arose which character that Academy Award-winning actor would portray in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many fans hoping that Bale would appear as long-time Thor supporting character and hammer-wielding superhero Beta Ray Bill.
However, there may be another perfect role for Bale to portray within the MCU, and it's a much more villainous character within the Thor mythos: Dario Agger.
Created by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic in 2014's Thor: God of Thunder #19.NOW as part of Marvel Comics' Marvel NOW publishing initiative, Agger is the latest incarnation of the mythical Marvel Universe villain Minotaur. Agger prayed to a statue of the Minotaur as a child to achieve revenge against the pirates that murdered his parents, and he was given the ability to transform between his human form and the hulking monster at will.
After rising to prominence in the business world, Agger became the C.E.O. of Roxxon Industries, one of the Marvel Universe's biggest corporations, and used his affluence and influence to exploit the world. Agger would become one of Jane Foster's biggest antagonists during her time as Thor before allying himself with the Dark Elf Malekith during the crossover event War of the Realms, where Jane and S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Roz Solomon defeated him.
With Natalie Portman set to reprise her role as Jane Foster and wield Mjolnir in Love and Thunder, the introduction of Dario Agger would provide a perfect villainous foil for her ascension to godhood. Filmmaker Taika Waititi and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige both expressed their love of Aaron's run writing the comic character for years, with Feige revealing Waititi had been reading Aaron's comics while filming Thor: Ragnarok. Since Roxxon was subtly introduced to the MCU back in Iron Man 2, Agger's nefarious corporation has already been woven into the shared cinematic universe's history.
While Bale certainly impressed audiences with his portrayal of Bruce Wayne's public persona as a boorish buffoon in the Dark Knight Trilogy to maintain the hero's secret identity, the fan-favorite actor has an even earlier cinematic role as a much more sinister smarmy businessman: Patrick Bateman. Bale's performance as the homicidal maniac in 2000's American Psycho, provided the actor with a dual-identity role years before his debut as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. To the public, Bateman was a wealthy investment banker living a life of laughable luxury in 1980s New York City. In his disintegrating private life, Bateman possessed an increasing bloodlust as he (probably) dismembered numerous victims to vent his various frustrations.
Obviously, an MCU Agger portrayed by Bale would be exponentially less graphically murderous than Patrick Batema,n but it certainly provides a new villainous double role for the actor. While Bale certainly has proved himself as a big-screen superhero, the prolific actor may not be interested in signing the standard multi-film contract to portray a character like Beta Ray Bill, who could easily live on in multiple films beyond Love and Thunder. An antagonistic role would carry far less longterm commitment for Bale, who is more known for awards season fare since completing his obligations as Batman. Bale would potentially follow in the footsteps of another cinematic Batman, Michael Keaton, who joined the MCU as the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
As vocal fans of Jason Aaron's contributions to the comic book Thor mythos, Taika Waititi and Kevin Feige could be drawing more inspiration from the long run than initially believed. Dario Agger certainly has a precedent opposing both the Jane Foster and Odinson incarnations of Thor. With both monstrous muscle and immense wealth at his disposal, he could provide the MCU with a much different villain that it has currently seen before. And while Bale is certainly known for more serious roles, the opportunity to cut loose as a more fun villain within the MCU could let the Dark Knight star cut loose in another superhero universe.
Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. The film arrives in theaters Nov. 5, 2021.