In the latest of Thor: Love And Thunder developments, Christian Bale has been cast as Gorr. The veteran actor is taking on the role of the film's primary antagonist. A description for the MCU's Gorr, however, differs slightly from the comic depiction.
Better known as Gorr The God Butcher, the spacefaring villain's mission is to kill every living deity. It became his goal in life after constant suffering and praying to the gods but never receiving any help. The madness, however, stopped when Knull crashed on Gorr's unnamed homeworld. The symbiote god was carrying All-Black The Necrosword, which wound up bonding to the weakling alien shortly after.
Brandishing a weapon with immense power, Gorr then went on a rampage, traveling to distant worlds, and killing every god within. The butcher was so determined that he discovered a way to traverse the timestream, all to destroy an ancient deity from the past. He followed up his excursion to the past with one to the future where he enslaved the remaining gods.
MCU Version Of Gorr
The MCU adaptation will reportedly be as equally incensed with gods as his comic counterpart, but his origin differs in how Gorr obtains his powers.
Rather than bonding with the oldest of symbiotes, Gorr will receive his supernatural powers after his family dies. He supposedly inherits abilities following their deaths, evidenced by a description posted to Vulture.
What's unclear is whether or not the transference is a direct result of their deaths or if an omnipotent force sees the pain and despair in Gorr's heart as a weakness to manipulate. Keep in mind, a supernatural or celestial being using The God Butcher as their pawn would mesh well with the MCU dynamic of villains creating villains.
Origins aside, Gorr's job as the god butcher will likely put him on a collision course with Thor (Chris Hemsworth). The bout could go in either one's favor, but seeing as how Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is becoming the next God of Thunder, it's probably going to be another loss for our favorite Avenger.
Following the fight, Gorr may take Thor prisoner the way he did in the comics. Doing so would give Foster a convenient reason for assuming her former lover's role as Thunder God. Having Jane and The God Butcher battle it out also seems like a fitting climax to the film.
Another major takeaway from Gorr joining the MCU is it may lead to other deities' introductions. Since he's known for slaying gods and probably won't start with Thor, a montage showing Gorr's conquests sounds feasible. It could be brief and only encompass a few looks at unnamed gods, but that would be long enough to establish their presence in the multiverse.
Potential Casualties
As far as who will get impaled on Gorr's sword, that's up for debate. Taika Waititi may take a few hints from the comics, utilizing characters from the God of Thunder line of comics. The problem with that plan is some of the more prominent ones like Volstagg are already dead. So, different heroes will have to take their place.
One guess is Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) will replace Volstagg as the thief who Gorr tortures during his monologue. In the comics, the God Butcher becomes infuriated by Thor's old friend after the latter steals a loaf of bread. Quill feels like the most plausible choice since he's known for being a thief. Plus, he's technically a demigod being that he's Ego's offspring.
Fans who doubt that Star-Lord will meet his end at Gorr's hands need to remember the Guardians of the Galaxy aren't going to be around for much longer. James Gunn has said the third film in his trilogy is the last featuring the current lineup. In turn, Quill dying in between films is plausible.
Regardless of who the God Butcher takes out in the opening of Love And Thunder, it'll be interesting to learn whether or not Thor is on the chopping block too. We know Jane Foster is taking over, and since there's not much else for the former Thunder God to do in the MCU, it may be Chris Hemsworth's last appearance as Thor.