Thor battles Gorr in the latest footage from the imminent Marvel Studios sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder. Featuring Chris Hemsworth and Christian Bale in fighting form, this latest look has Thor looking alarmingly worried as he clashes swords with Gorr the God Butcher – a villain who promises to be the greatest threat the God of Thunder has ever faced.
Not only does the trailer provide another look at Bale’s debut as the Marvel villain, but it also offers some intriguing hints at the details within Thor: Love and Thunder. Notably, Hemsworth’s former Avenger is not using his trusty ax, Stormbreaker, but is instead wielding Zeus’ lightning bolts. If nothing else, this implies that something could befall Zeus, and considering that Bale’s villain is named Gorr the God Butcher, this does not bode well for the leader of the Olympians.
Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor 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, who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg, and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, 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.
Gorr Believes That All Gods Must Die
As you can no doubt tell from his name, Gorr the God Butcher is not a big fan of Thor and the rest of the gods. Created by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, Gorr is born on a planet with no name. Living every day on the brink of starvation, Gorr was taught to trust in the gods, though they never answer his prayers. After living a tragic life filled with death and struggle, Gorr abandons his belief in the Gods, which leads to his exile. While wandering the desert close to death, Gorr witnesses a pair of battling gods and, realizing that they do indeed exist, they just don’t care, Gorr becomes enraged and bonds with the dark god's sword. Transformed into an all-powerful force of revenge, Gorr's hatred of the gods leads him on a bloody and brutal mission across time and space.
From what we have seen so far of Gorr, Bale’s incarnation will follow the source material quite closely, with Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi saying that the supervillain is "the most sympathetic villain they've had. He's also tested the highest of any villain Marvel has had."
Directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Christian Bale as Gorr, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, Waititi himself as Korg, Russell Crowe as Zeus, and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, with the likes of Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper reprising their roles as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Love and Thunder will be released in the United States on July 8, 2022, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.