Christian Bale Did Not Realize He Was Entering The MCU When He Signed On For ‘Thor’ Role

Christian Bale played superhero Batman in Batman Begins and reprised the role in the sequels The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The Dark Knight isn’t likely to be well-versed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before joining Thor: Love and Thunder, Christian Bale claimed he had no idea what the Marvel Cinematic Universe was.

In an interview with Total Film Magazine published Tuesday, the Batman Begins star, who is poised to make his Marvel debut as the villainous, goth-adjacent Gorr the God Butcher in the fourth movie of the Thor trilogy, revealed as much. Bale dismissed the idea of reprising his role as Batman when asked if he had any reservations about playing another comic book character.

Absolutely not, no. That didn’t even enter into my head at all. I’d read that, and people would go, ‘Oh, look at this! He’s entered the MCU!’ And I’d go, ‘I’ve done what? I haven’t entered sh*t, thank you very much.’ I’m like, ‘The MCU?’ I had to ask what that was.

Bale discussed the role of the baddie with director Taika Waititi, who wanted to include a dance number utilizing Kate Bush’s styling, who is currently experiencing a cultural renaissance. Bale also admitted that he made the mistake of looking up the comic character on the internet. The film will follow the titular thunder god Chris Hemsworth on a journey unlike any other: one in search of inner peace.

Bale’s Gorr, a disillusioned believer set on killing all the gods after experiencing personal tragedy, thwarts his retirement plans. The picture also stars Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Russell Crowe, and Taika Waititi, and will be released on July 8th. In the trailer below, Bale makes his debut as the villain without a G-string.

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