Summary
Thor: Love and Thunderwasn’t the big success theMarvel Cinematic Universeneeded in Phase 4, and one of its biggest mistakes was the design of its villain, which is made worse by how good his original design actually was. The MCU continues expanding with its Multiverse Saga, which has continued the stories of already-established characters while introducing many more. However, the Multiverse Saga hasn’t matched the success of the Infinity Saga and some movies didn’t have the positive reception Marvel hoped for, and among them isThor: Love and Thunder.
Thor: Love and Thunderreunited viewers with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who, after spending some time with the Guardians of the Galaxy, reunited with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (Taika Waititi) to find and stop Gorr (Christian Bale) from killing all gods. To everyone’s surprise, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) joined the mission asthe Mighty Thor, but she was dealing with terminal cancer at the same time.Thor: Love and Thunderhad one of the MCU’s most promising villains so far and didn’t seize him, and his original design is only making this even worse one year after the movie’s release.
Thor: Love & Thunder Complete Cast Guide - Every MCU Character Explained
Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder is the MCU’s wackiest movie yet, and it helps that it has a cast of characters stacked with talented actors.
MCU’s Gorr Concept Art Is So Much Cooler Than What We Got
Gorr Could Have Been A Much More Visually Terrifying Villain
InThor: Love and Thunder, Gorr was born on an unnamed planet and worshiped the god Rapu. Gorr would pray to Rapu constantly, but the god never answered his prayers and the people of Gorr’s planet died from the heat and lack of food and water. Gorr and his daughter, Love, were the last survivors of the planet, with Gorr pleading to Rapu to provide them with food and water so they could survive. Unfortunately, Love passed away in Gorr’s arms, and as he awaited his death and mourned for Love, he came across Rapu, but the god didn’t care about him or what happened to his people.
Rapu was celebrating that he now had the Necrosword, but he grabbed Gorr by the throat after the latter told him he didn’t deserve to be worshiped. However, the Necrosword chose Gorr, meaning that he would also be cursed by it, but Gorr used it to kill Rapu and vowed to kill all gods.The Necrosword physically changed Gorr, with his eyes becoming yellow, his skin turning grey, and his teeth turning black as well as his saliva. While this was a more imposing look than before he held the Necrosword, Gorr’s original concept art was a lot better.
At one point,Love and Thundercould have had a more comic book-accurate yet still different Gorr, as revealed in concept art.
It’s not uncommon for the MCU’s characters, particularly the villains, to not look like their comic book counterparts, and that’s somewhat expected, as they need to look realistic to a degree.In Gorr’s case, his final look inThor: Love and Thunderwas nothing like his comic book version, making him a lot less horrifying.
At one point,Love and Thundercould have had a more comic book-accurate yet still different Gorr, as revealed in concept art (via Jerad S. Marantz onArt Station) that showsa more terrifying Gor with the “tentacles” in his head, a black cape that seemed to have life of its own as there’s movement in its different parts, andhis body covered in black patches, better showing how the Necrosword took over him.
Why Thor 4’s Gorr Mistakes Look Worse Later On
There was a lot of criticism againstLove and Thunder’s script, with critics noting that Bale did the best he could with what he was given.
Thor: Love and Thunderbecame one of the MCU’s most divisive movies to date, mostly due to its tone and humor, which tried too hard to match that ofThor: Ragnarok. However, what critics and general audiences agreed on was thatthe best parts ofLove and Thunderwere the performances of Hemsworth, Portman, and Bale. The latter, in particular, got a lot of praise for bringing the emotion and horror necessary to play the character – however, there was a lot of criticism againstLove and Thunder’s script, with critics noting that Bale did the best he could with what he was given.
The more Bale, Hemsworth, and Portman are in other projects, the clearer it is thatThor: Love and Thundercompletely wasted their talents and chemistry, particularly Bale’s, as this was his first and potentially last MCU project. Knowing how visually imposing Gorr could have really been makesThor: Love and Thunder’s Gorr mistakes even worse, as they show everything he could have been and how much greater Bale’s performance could have been.
How The MCU Could Still Redeem Gorr
The Multiverse Offers Many Opportunities To Redeem Some Characters
Gorr could get his original design and a different story thanks to the multiverse, as he could return as a variant.
Gorr’s role inThor: Love and Thunderwas disappointing, but he was given closure as he found Eternity and brought his daughter back to life, but he died as a consequence of the constant use of the Necrosword. However,the MCU’s multiverse offers many opportunities for deceased characters to return, and there are many who deserve redemption in different ways. Gorr could get his original design and a different story thanks to the multiverse, as he could return as a variant in a future Phase or if the MCU goes through a reboot afterAvengers: Secret Wars.
June 16, 2025
Thor: Love and Thunder
In Thor: Love and Thunder, the Norse god teams up with King Valkyrie, Korg, and the Mighty Thor, Jane Foster, to thwart Gorr the God Butcher’s quest to eradicate the gods. This cosmic adventure sees Thor confront new challenges as he navigates his return from retirement.
