After dropping a teaser for Thor 4 ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premiere, the latest hype-inducing glimpse of Chris Hemsworth’s return to the big screen gives fans plenty of reason to get excited for July. Although the trailer for Thor’s latest outing could have done just as well with more dialogue between Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor and Hemsworth’s Thor Odinson, especially with Taika Waititi’s Korg playing the ultimate hypeman as he told stories of the Space Viking, Marvel Studios went ahead and revealed Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher, who is terrifying in his on-screen debut. In addition to some witty banter between Thor and Mighty Thor as well as Gorr’s horrifying god-killing presence, the two-minute preview sees the return of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, who is now the King of New Asgard, as well as more of Russel Crowe’s Zeus. The MCU isn’t short of relatable villains with reasonable causes and Gorr the God Butcher is not an exception. Macabre as it might seem, Gorr’s vendetta against any and all deities makes a lot of sense. In the comic books, Gorr was an extremely poor being who never got a break. After seeing his parents die in poverty, Gorr would lose his pregnant mate, Arra, to an earthquake as well as the rest of their children to other causes. Following several heart-breaking incidents in his life, Gorr turned his back on the indifferent gods and eventually came upon a weapon that would help him exact his revenge. With the sword of the eldritch god of darkness, Knull, bonding to him and granting him the all-powerful Necrosword, Gorr has dedicated many a millennium to hunting down every divine being in the known universe. Ultimately, this is just a snippet of the tragic tale of an individual who found out that gods existed and could not care any less about his suffering. We’ll find out soon enough if and how the MCU changes Gorr’s backstory and what kind of nuance Bale will bring to his take on the deicidal baddie. Thor: Love and Thunder is set to hit theaters on July 8. Until then, fans can keep themselves busy with Ms. Marvel, which will premiere on Disney+ on June 8.
