Thor: Love and Thunder leaked merchandise reveals Christian Bale’s look as villain Gorr the God Butcher in the film

The fourth instalment of Thor’s series within the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to release this summer. Titled Thor: Love and Thunder, the film sees Natalie Portman return as Jane Foster and also take up the mantle of Thor from Chris Hemsworth. The film also introduces a new villain to the MCU, with Christian Bale playing Gorr the God Butcher. While the film has not revealed Christian’s look in the film, a leaked merchandise connected to the film may just have spoiled that. Also read: Did Spider-Man No Way Home tease a Thor: Love and Thunder plot reveal?

Gorr the God Butcher–as the name suggests–is a powerful being in the Marvel universe. He has a special grudge against Gods in the Marvel Comics, making him a natural enemy to the likes of Thor, who is the God of Thunder. Barring a few grainy leaked set pictures, there isn’t much information on how MCU plans to portray the character. Even in the leaked pics, several fans pointed out that on-set looks in MCU are often different from how the character appears on screen since CGI is added.

However, recently, pictures of the action figures tied to Thor: Love and Thunder, have been uncovered by Murphy’s Multiverse. This official merchandise gives the first good look at MCU’s Gorr. Fans pointed that MCU’s adaptation seems a bit different from the comics. While it retains the character’s white pale skin and black sword, the similarities end there. Unlike the comics, the character lacks the tentacles on the side of the face and a black robe. A printed image on the side of the toy’s box also gives a look of Christian Bale’s look as the character.

Fans have had mixed reactions to the divergent look. While some are anticipating backlash given it’s not comic accurate, others have applauded a fresh take. One fan tweeted, “Without the black robe, this looks like a marble statue. Why?” Another fan defended the design and said, “Marvel hasn’t disappointed with its takes yet. Let’s see how this plays out.”

Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder is part of Phase 4 of the MCU. Apart from Chris, Natalie, and Christian, the film also stars Tessa Thompson, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Karen Gillan, Jeff Goldblum, and Vin Diesel. The film will release on July 8, 2022.