Director Taika Waititi isn’t quite done making his mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe just yet. After shaking up the universe in his typically personality-driven way with Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi has set his sights on the sequel and it sure looks like he’ll be taking things up a notch. Some set photos taken straight from the filming of Thor: Love and Thunder are finally giving us our first look at Christian Bale in full costume as Gorr the God Butcher, who you might figure to be the bad guy (just a hunch).

It seems that principle photography recently wrapped up in Australia, but additional shooting for the fourth film is currently taking place in Malibu. Pictures from the set reveal a very clear look at Bale suited up as the villain in his comic-book accurate, all-white robe and face covering that certainly lends an otherworldly atmosphere to the comic book character. You can just make out the profile of Bale’s distinctive face, though valiant (but ultimately fruitless) attempts are made at concealing his facial area.

Villains such as Loki, Ultron, and Thanos himself have been fought and dispatched throughout the MCU, but none of them have proved to be a match for the power of pesky set photo leaks which continue to flummox Marvel.

Gorr the God Butcher

After his turn as Batman, Christian Bale’s casting in another comic book movie franchise was surprising enough. The fact that he’s portraying Gorr, of all characters, is even more out of left field. Gorr was only a relatively recent addition to the Marvel funny books, first appearing in Thor: God of Thunder #1 in 2013.

The God Butcher’s backstory, as you might imagine, comes loaded with quite a vendetta against godlike beings of Thor’s caliber. Born on a nameless planet and in complete destitution, Gorr was brought up to pray to and have faith in the gods. Orphaned at an early age and constantly faced with the deaths of most people he held dear, Gorr was exiled by his own people and continued to harbor a universe-sized grudge against anyone who dared to call themselves a god. Naturally, this puts him on a collision course with the God of (Love and) Thunder himself.

After Cate Blanchett’s delightful turn as Hela in Ragnarok, who knows what unique spin Waititi will put on Bale’s big bad? One thing’s for sure, based on these intimidating-looking set photos: Thor and his allies are in for one hell of a fight.

Thor: Love and Thunder is currently in production and is scheduled to hit theaters on May 6, 2022.

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