Filming for Thor 4: More Thor is officially underway with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson and Chris Pratt joining forces against Christian Bale, who will be playing the villainous and awesomely named Gorr the God Butcher. The rest of the cast is still getting rounded out. We know that Jeff Goldblum and Matt Damon are back and insiders say writer/director Taika Waititi has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve for his return to what is quickly becoming one of Marvel’s most idiosyncratic sub-franchises. But at least one of those tricks appears to have been revealed, as the Thor movie has now has a real Gladiator on set. Yes, Russell Crowe has joined the chat.
But who will Crowe be playing? No word on that yet, though the Thor comics have no shortage of opportunities for a guy of Crowe’s distinctly Asgardian demeanor. These movies have yet to introduce Balder the Brave, a long time friend of Thor’s in Marvel Comics. There’s also Beta Ray Bill, a horse-faced alien who proves to be worthy of his own magic lightning hammer and becomes a cosmic superhero of his own right (who goes on to join the Guardians of the Galaxy for a time). And for that matter, why shouldn’t these movies introduce Throg, the noble frog warrior who gets his own frog-sized hammer to dispense hammer-type justice to the reptilian kingdom (comics are weird!).
Crowe could voice any or none of these but either way, he’s in. The movie, which is technically called Thor: Love and Thunder, will thunder into theaters in May of next year.
