Christian Bale Calls Out The Monotony Of Marvel Movies
Christian Bale recently revealed that filming Thor: Love and Thunder was "monotonous."
Heads up, true believers: Gorr is not happy! Actor Christian Bale is speaking out about working on green-screen movies like Thor: Love and Thunder, calling them “the definition of monotony.” According to The Independent (UK), Bale didn’t have great things to say in a recent interview about special effects-heavy films like the Marvel movies, although the Batman actor did seem to give compliments to the co-stars that he worked with.
Thor: Love and Thunder was a highly anticipated film, with fans eagerly awaiting the return of the God of Thunder to the MCU, but the film was met with mixed reviews from critics and fans. Christian Bale earned praise for his portrayal of Gorr the God Butcher, whose thirst for revenge made him one of the more interesting Marvel villains since Thanos. The shifting tones and over-the-top humor from writer/director Taika Waititi, however, made for an uneven viewing experience, despite grossing over $343 million worldwide at the box office.
Giant Freakin Robot reported exclusively last month that the poor response to Thor 4 caused Marvel to drop Taika Waititi from helming Thor 5.
Despite the rave reviews for his performance, Christian Bale could not get used to the method of filming the largely-CGI Marvel film, where physical sets and story context can be nonexistent, and green-screen sets playing such a huge role. “Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not,” the American Psycho actor said. “You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next.”
While he has never been afraid to drop harsh opinions during an interview, Christian Bale did give credit to his Thor co-stars, who have more experience and familiarity with the production method. “You’ve got good people…You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me,” he said. Co-star Chris Hemsworth has about a dozen Marvel projects under his belt and is likely more used to the process, but Bale admitted he didn’t even know what set he was on half of the time.
“They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three,'” Bale recounted. “Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?'”
Christian Bale may be a tad bit bitter that some of the best parts of his Thor performance were left on the cutting room floor. Before the film even opened, Bale revealed in an interview that a scene involving Gorr mutilating himself to free himself from his bonds was so graphic, Marvel cut it from the final version of the film. Other Bale scenes, reportedly involving a cameo by Jeff Goldblum, were also cut, as the content would have given the film an R-rating.
Christian Bale may not want to speak out against big-budget green-screen movies too much; based on the critics’ response to his latest film, he may want to give Marvel another try someday. His new film, Amsterdam, is getting ravaged by critics, with a dismal 35% rating right now on Rotten Tomatoes. Written and directed by David O. Russell, the film tells the true story of three friends (played by Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington) who are framed for murder and end up exposing a conspiracy to overthrow the United States government.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now available to watch on the Disney+ streaming service. Christian Bale’s next film Amsterdam opens in theaters on October 7.
