Gorr The God Butcher's Look In Thor: Love And Thunder Served A Very Important Purpose
Marvel Studios made a quality splash at the box office earlier this year with "Thor: Love and Thunder," Taika Waititi's second entry in the Asgardian saga. With a global gross of over $750 million (via The Numbers), "Love and Thunder" proves that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a juggernaut not to be messed with. Chris Hemsworth's fourth solo outing as the quippy god saw the return of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor's ex-girlfriend, who now also wields the power of thunder.
Also introduced in the film is the villain Gorr the God Butcher who, as his name suggests, is hell-bent on killing gods. To play the iconic villain, Marvel and director Waititi tapped former Batman actor Christian Bale for the role. While speaking with Screen Rant, Bale opened up about how he joined "Love and Thunder" because of the script and his desire to work with Waititi. "I just went, 'Great!' Loved the script, loved Taika's description of the villain. 'Let's go do this,'" Bale said. Despite scheduling conflicts, Bale managed to work things out at the behest of his family.
In the comics, Gorr the God Butcher looks similar to an alien, with pale white skin and tentacles on his head. Wrapped around him are oozings from the Necrosword, which allow him to create wings and attack enemies. Artists have depicted Gorr as a creature with no nose, similar to Voldemort from "Harry Potter." The original depiction of the God Butcher is largely different than what audiences saw on screen, and there's a good reason behind it.
Marvel wanted Christian Bale to stand out as Gorr
"Thor: Love and Thunder" largely forgoes the visual depiction of Gorr the God Butcher seen in the comics, instead opting for a look that puts the focus on Christain Bale. While many have been disappointed that the menacing look from the comics didn't make it to the big screen, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed in the Disney+ "Assembled" episode "The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder" that there was a special reason as to why Gorr looks so different (via The Direct).
"Gorr the God Butcher has an awesome look in the comics ... But had we done exactly that translation, we would've lost all of Christian," Feige revealed. "So we made the decision early on that we didn't want him to be a motion capture character," he continued, before confirming that director Taika Waititi believed makeup would be the best option to bring Gorr to life.
Prior to the release of the "Thor" sequel, Bale opened up at a press conference by discussing why he doesn't have the lean physique and lack of garb that the God Butcher sports in the comics. "I was coming off of a film where it had been necessary to be sort of rather lacking in muscle," Bale said (via Comicbook.com). "And then I saw the images and thought, 'Well, that's not gonna be possible' ... We literally have three days between me finishing one film and heading over to Australia for the quarantine and whatnot."