Thor 4 leaks reveal how Marvel is changing Gorr the God Butcher

A superhero movie is only as good as its villain.

The saying is a cliché for a reason, and there have been plenty of lackluster superhero movies released over the years that failed mainly because their villains are, well, forgettable.

Fortunately, next year’s Thor: Love and Thunder promises to feature one of the coolest and weirdest villains that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever seen: Gorr the God Butcher. Played by Christian Bale, the character is a fearsome and formidable villain in the comics and one who should prove to be a more-than-worthy match for both Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and his many friends.

After months of waiting, Marvel fans just got their long-awaited first look at Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher too.

The Leaks — Thor: Love and Thunder wrapped up principal photography in Australia in June, but it appears as though additional filming is now being completed in Malibu, California. The Daily Mail snapped a batch of set photos from the film’s Malibu production, all of which feature Bale prominently.

While blurry, the images give fans their first real sense of what Gorr the God Butcher is going to look like in Love and Thunder. Wearing an off-white robe, Bale appears to be covered in some kind of gray-green paint, and his head is covered in a facial prosthetic that works to further emphasizes the character’s alien origins.

It’s a costume that’s strikingly similar to the way Gorr looks in the comics, but there are a few key differences.

The God Butcher — In the comics, Gorr the God Butcher wears a black robe and cape over his body, unlike the off-white robe that Bale’s version can be seen wearing in the set photos. It’s also unclear if Bale’s Gorr will have the tentacles that the character has in the comics, which run out of his head and down past his shoulders.

With all that said, it’s entirely possible that Gorr’s look could change throughout Thor: Love and Thunder. In the comics, the character doesn’t start as a vicious god butcher and only becomes one after bonding with an evil weapon known as All-Black the Necrosword. In other words, the scene that Bale was spotted filming in these photos could very well take place before Gorr’s transformation, which means there’s a chance the character’s costume could take on darker colors after he’s assumed his god butcher form.

That is, of course, assuming that Gorr’s iconic weapon is actually included in Thor: Love and Thunder. However, we can’t imagine that a filmmaker like Taika Waititi would pass up on the opportunity of using a weapon named “All-Black the Necrosword” in one of his films.

The Inverse Verdict — There’s no way of knowing right now how much the look of Gorr the God Butcher will evolve throughout Thor: Love and Thunder or what kind of post-production VFX may be applied to the character. That said, Bale’s version of Gorr already looks pretty close to how he does in the comics, which should please all the fans out there desperate to see a comics-accurate take on the character brought to life on the big screen.

Thor: Love and Thunder releases in theaters on May 6, 2022.