Christian Bale is reportedly in negotiations to join the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder, which is scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 7, 2021, and starts filming this summer.
Fans are already speculating what role Bale might play from the Marvel comic universe. A leading contender according to the Twitterverse is Beta Ray Bill, an alien who first appeared in The Mighty Thor #337 in November 1983. Other suggestions are Cul Borson/Serpent (Thor’s uncle / AKA the Norse God of Fear, who had his debut in 2011 in Fear Itself #1), and Dario Agger/Minotaur, whose first appearance was in Thor: God of Thunder #19.NOW in April 2014.
Bale is no stranger to super roles, playing Batman/Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Series. With his penchant for extreme method acting, including body transformation (e.g. The Machinist, American Hustle, Vice), it will be interesting to see what role Taika Waititi might have in mind for Bale.
Waititi is returning to direct Love and Thunder, after his last MCU outing with Thor: Ragnarok in 2017 (which grossed $854 million). He’ll also reprise his role as Korg. Also within the Disney universe, Waititi was involved with The Mandalorian on Disney+ playing IG-11 (RIP you wonderful nurse droid) and directing the season finale Chapter 8: Redemption.
Speaking of returning, Tessa Thompson reprises her role as Valkyrie, and Natalie Portman returns to the Thor franchise as Jane Foster, who inherits Thor’s powers and wielding Mjolnir.
Damn, November 2021 seems so far away. I guess between the upcoming Marvel shows Disney+ and the Phase Four movies, we’ll have enough MCU content to entertain us through the wait.
