Thor: Love and Thunder full trailer reveals Christian Bale’s creepy villain — watch it here

Thor is heading back into theaters this July with the first MCU fourquel, Thor: Love and Thunder. It took Marvel a while to release the first teaser trailer, which arrived little over a month ago. Thankfully, we haven’t had to wait so long for our next look, with the full trailer arriving last night.

The trailer introduces us to Christian Bale’s villain Gorr, also known as the God Butcher, and his motivations. Unsurprisingly for a character with that title, he’s all about travelling the universe killing gods. Because they’re just a bunch of narcissists who are in it for themselves, apparently.

 Gorr probably isn’t wrong, especially when you think about what Thor used to be like. Genocide probably isn’t the answer, though, especially since Marvel is fast revealing there are more gods than anyone ever realized.

If Gorr was just sticking to the ones who actively did bad things, it would be cool if he could at least try to be a little less creepy and planet-destroying in the process. And is it just me, or does Gorr get creepier and more monstrous as the trailer progresses? I suspect that the Necrosword, the weapon he uses to murder godly beings, is corrupting him somehow.

Obviously all this god-murdering is going to put Gorr on a collision course with Thor. He is the God of Thunder, after all, and that’s not a title they hand out to just anyone. Not unless you manage to wield a magic hammer, like Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

This trailer also gives us a better look at a third thunder god — Russell Crowe’s Zeus. He’s not alone, though, with an audience gathering to watch him interrogate Thor. He’s also surrounded by a group of beautiful women, which is so in character for the king of the Greek gods. 

We also see his trademark lightning bolt in the hands of Valkyrie later on in the trailer — so maybe don’t get too attached to Zeus if you can help it. Gorr isn’t called the God Butcher for nothing.

There isn’t a huge amount of action from the Guardians of the Galaxy here, which suggests they won’t have a big part to play in the movie. Meanwhile Korg, everyone’s favorite rock monster, is tagging along for the ride.

Disney also released a poster for the movie, which feels reminiscent of the original Star Wars trilogy but with a distinctly psychedelic tone to it.

Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8. It stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor, Christian Bale as Gorr, Taika Waititi as Korg and Russell Crowe as Zeus. Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel will also be reprising their roles as the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t the only MCU title arriving in theaters this year. Be sure to check out our list of upcoming Marvel movies and series to see what’s coming and when.