Is there anything crazier from this past year than the news that Spider-Man might have been leaving the MCU? How about that Batman may be joining it? Well, not exactly Batman, but the actor who famously played the character in Christopher Nolan’s beloved Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale. That’s right, according to Collider, Christian Bale is in negotiations to play an unspecified character in the God of Thunder’s fourth solo movie, Thor: Love and Thunder.
The news comes as a shocking surprise because the Academy Award-winning Bale is so famously picky when deciding which roles to play, especially when you consider the high-caliber actor has already performed his fair share of super heroics in three caped crusader movies. One has to assume that whatever role Marvel Studios is offering Bale, it must be a juicy one.
So, what could the part actually be? Many fans have been speculating on the web since the news first broke, with a number of intriguing characters popping up as possibilities. The first one that caught our eye was that of Beta Ray Bill, the horse face alien who was the first non-Asgardian character deemed worthy to lift the mighty Mjolnir.
The character has been conjectured to appear in the MCU many times before, but the closest Bill ever came was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo of sorts in Thor: Ragnarok, where his mighty steed facade was seen sculpted on the side of the Grandmaster’s tower of champions.
The next character that Bale could have his sights set on is Nova. Much like Beta Ray Bill, Nova has long been speculated to be joining the on-screen Marvel family. If Bale were to play him, though, it would have to be the battle-hardened adult version of the character and not the Peter Parker-with-space-powers iteration that fans originally got to know back in the 1970s.
The modern Nova is the last living member of the Nova Corp (the space cops we first met in Guardians of the Galaxy), imbued with the power of all his fallen brethren. Nova was considered to appear in both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame but was held back in favor of utilizing characters general audiences already knew.
Another intriguing possibility that has been thrown around is Marvel’s very own deal making devil, Mephisto. Inspired by the character of Mephistopheles from the 16th century legend Faust, Mephisto is considered to be the true devil of the Marvel Universe who rules over his own private dimension of Hell and is always looking to make a deal with an unsuspecting mortal. Known for his eloquently evil diatribes, this could be a very meaty role for Bale to tackle if the script calls for it. Instagram artist BossLogic even whipped up a rendition of what the actor could look like as the demonic deal maker:
One major Thor supporting character that has never been mentioned in the MCU is none other than Balder the Brave! Balder has been around in the comics since 1962’s Journey into Mystery #85 and is the half-brother of Thor! It seems strange that such an important character has been left by the wayside for so long in the MCU. Maybe bringing on an A-List actor to introduce Balder to general audiences is just what the brave one needs to get his star rising.
Finally, two characters that fans have been wondering about ever since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox are the Silver Surfer and his planet-eating master, Galactus. Fans have pondered if Bale could be playing either of these two titans and honestly, if Marvel Studios is planning on faithfully bringing these legendary characters to life, we can’t think of a better actor to play either one than Christian Bale. His past transformative roles clearly showcase the skills needed to definitively bring Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s cosmic creations to the silver screen once and for all.
In light of this momentous news, who do you think Christian Bale could be in talks to play in the first fourth solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?