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Christian Bale Didn't Know What MCU Was Before Joining Love & Thunder
Actor Christian Bale didn't know what the MCU was before he joined the cast of Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder as Gorr The God Butcher.

Christian Bale Didn't Know What MCU Was Before Joining Love & Thunder

Actor Christian Bale had no idea what the MCU was when he joined Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Bale plays Gorr The God Butcher in the latest solo Thor film, a creature hellbent on killing all gods who eventually sets his sights on Thor Odinson. Chris Hemsworth returns as the titular character in Thor: Love and Thunder, with Natalie Portman making her return to the series as Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor, as well as Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, director Taika Waititi as Korg, and Russell Crowe joining the franchise as Zeus.

Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t Bale’s first time in a superhero film, as he famously played Batman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, which is his most memorable role for many fans. However, Bale is an accomplished actor, having won an Oscar for his performance in The Fighter and multiple other awards for his work in movies like Vice, American Hustle, and The Big Short. Bale’s last feature was James Mangold’s Ford V Ferrari in 2019, making Thor: Love and Thunder his first new work in three years.

While talking to Total Film (via Games Radar), Bale said that he had “absolutely” no qualms about taking on another comic-book movie role after playing Batman for three films, saying that it “didn’t even enter into my head at all” when considering the part in Thor: Love and Thunder. Bale went on to explain that he’d read people’s reactions about his casting in the film, which celebrated his entry into the MCU, but that he had no idea what that was. The MCU, as most fans know, is an abbreviation for Marvel Cinematic Universe, but for Bale it sounded like he’d been linked to something else entirely. Bale explains:

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 s***, thank you very much.’ I’m like, ‘The MCU?’ I had to ask what that was.

While Bale assuredly knew that there were many Marvel films and likely saw at least a few of them, it seems a matter of him simply not knowing that they’re all connected under the MCU umbrella. While working on Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy the DCEU wasn’t a thing, as Man of Steel was the kickoff for WB/DC’s shared universe, so Bale missed the window on that connection while he was leading the charge as Batman. While he’s been on hiatus since Ford V Ferrari, Bale has a number of films lined up this year and beyond, starting with Thor: Love and Thunder, then David O. Russell’s Amsterdam and Scott Cooper’s Edgar Allen Poe film, The Pale Blue Eye.

It’s always fascinating when an A-list actor reveals that they know nothing about the bigger picture of Hollywood trends, especially when it’s part of the vernacular for even the most casual of fans, such as those of the MCU. If anything, it further proves that Bale is simply an actor who loves doing what he does and is on an entire other wavelength when it comes to the fandom aspect of his work. For Bale, it’s completely about the performance, not about being a part of a cultural trend, as he’s always followed his professional instincts in the work he does, which will likely lead to an inspired villain turn in Thor: Love and Thunder as a result.