Thor Love and Thunder: 5 villains Christian Bale could play

4. Ares

In the comics, Ares isn’t always the villain. After giving up his title as the God of War, he worked alongside the Avengers — on more than one occasion. Though, his tactics were frowned upon. An MCU version of Ares works best as an anti-villain whose methods of saving humanity differ from our other heroes.

Imagine seeing Christian Bale’s version of Ares coming out of retirement to reclaim his throne; upset at the rule of this new world. In fact, it could be the death of his son, Alexander, that rejuvenates his somewhat evil ways. The death of a loved one is a legitimate and effective motivation to uproot an unruly world as, to some degree it’s an arc that resembles Black Panther’s Killmonger, who, as a villain divided fans due his emphatic motivation.

Likewise, Bale would bring a sinister yet empathetic approach to The God of War in Thor: Love and Thunder. It’d sure be a different version of the visual brute that we see depicted in the comics, but if you need an example of what Bale could bring to the role, check out Vice; where he played former Vice President Dick Chaney. Bale’s Ares could work as a war strategist who relies on intellect in addition to his godly powers in an effort to avenge his son.