Christian Bale Might be Joining Thor: Love and Thunder

Batman in the Marvel Universe? Well, sort of, and possibly. Collider reports that Christian Bale, the Oscar-winning actor and the star of Christopher Nolan’s excellent Dark Knight trilogy, is currently in talks to join Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Love and Thunder is Waititi’s follow-up to his universally beloved Thor: Ragnarok, which came out in 2017 and substantially changed Chris Hemsworth’s titular Asgardian God of Thunder into one of Marvel’s funniest superheroes. It also introduced the world to Tessa Thompson’s ferocious Valkryie (and a version of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk that could actually talk).

Bale is a notoriously committed actor, and one imagines he would have a field day playing in Waititi’s world alongside Hemsworth and co-star Thompson. Natalie Portman is also set to return to the Thor universe, reprising her role as Jane Foster. Yet as we learned at last summer’s Comic-Con, Portman’s Foster will become “Mighty Thor” in this new film. Waititi himself will return to voice the beloved rock monster Korg, who first appeared in Ragnarok and then had a small role in Avengers: Endgame. 

So the question you have is; who will Bale be playing? That’s a piece of information Marvel will be keeping under wraps if Bale does indeed join the cast. He’s currently starring in James Mangold’s excellent car racing film Ford v Ferrari as Ken Miles, a legendary driver who helped the American car company best their heavily favored Italian counterparts at the 24 Hours at Le Mans race in 1966.

Bale returning to the superhero world he left on top in 2012 after The Dark Knight Rises would be an intriguing twist. Granted, in this case, he won’t be asked to shoulder a fresh trilogy but rather join a superhero world already in motion, one lighter and looser and far more colorful than Gotham by a mile.

Thor: Love and Thunder is due in theaters on November 5, 2021.

Featured image: Christian Bale in Twentieth Century Fox’s FORD V FERRARI. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton. Courtesy 20th Century Fox/Walt Disney Studios.