Christian Bale's Inspiration For His Thor: Love And Thunder Villain Comes From A Surprising Place
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is hitting theaters on July 8, 2022, and we're about to see Christian Bale suck all the color out of the universe. At least that's what it looks like from the trailers. Bale is playing Gorr the God Butcher, and — at least in the comics — Gorr's family dies, and his gods don't save them. He swears vengeance on all gods and begins slaughtering them. Bale was absolutely not the first person I thought of when I imagined Gorr, but seeing him take on a comic book villain role like this is pretty cool. Though, after reading what he just said about his inspiration for the character, I'm a little confused about what I'm about to see.
Taika Waititi, who is directing the film (and voicing Korg), is a funny guy, and his films crack me up. Not that he can't be brutal in them, but Gorr's backstory is a rough one, and there is murder afoot. Bale spoke about his inspiration for the role in the latest issue of Total Film (via Games Radar), and it's a weird one. When asked what inspired his take, he said:
"Mostly hearing Taika's [Waititi, director] thoughts on it. There's obviously sort of a Nosferatu slight attitude. Taika and I wanted to do a whole dance, which we didn't get to do, but we had all this sort of Kate Bush stuff that we worked at. But I think he just realized he was never going to be allowed to put that in the final film. I would say that the most common thing I was staring at was the Aphex Twin video of 'Come To Daddy'. But I don't even know if that will be in the final film."
Okay ... what? I've put the video for "Come to Daddy" below in case you, like me, have never seen it.
Come to Daddy
So yeah. There's a lot to unpack here. Nosferatu, I totally get. He's a creepy, drawn-looking monster in black and white. Sucking the life out of things — it makes sense. Then there is the dance statement. So wait, they were going to have a Gorr dance? The dance of the God Butchering? Is it like his dance in "American Psycho?" I don't know if I can process that, but he said they didn't get to do it anyway. Then he mentions that they had "all this sort of Kate Bush stuff that we worked at." She really is all the rage again, with "Stranger Things" and hitting the top of the charts, but huh?
That Aphex Twin video is super upsetting and I will absolutely be having nightmares featuring children in masks, though he did say he was "staring" at it, not dancing to it.
Look, I 100% trust Taika Waititi to make the best movies. I love his work, and I don't think I've seen a single thing of his that I haven't loved. I've adored the trailers for "Thor: Love and Thunder." I have no notes, but a dance? I ... Kate Bush? Not that I could have imagined that working in "Stranger Things" either though, so I'll continue to assume he knows what he's doing.
I think I have to see that dance now though.