With such a star-studded cast, Marvel fans can't be blamed for assuming that Thor: Love and Thunder might see the intersection of some of Hollywood's most high-profile talent. However, in a recent interview, Christian Bale, who joins Thor: Love and Thunder as Gorr the God Butcher, noted that some of his scenes with such actors as Jeff Goldblum and Peter Dinklage had been cut.
Bale notes, singing the praises of the film's director, Taika Waititi, who also directed the highly praised Thor: Ragnarok, "Taika just created a really, really, good cast." He continued, "[a]nd everybody else I'm not mentioning as well."
"I got to work with Peter Dinklage," Bale said. Dinklage appeared in Avengers: Endgame as Eitri, a dwarf king and weapons forger for the god of thunder himself, Thor. "[t]hat's not in the final film, but I got to work with him. He's fantastic."
Bale also noted that he "got to work with Jeff Goldblum, he's not in the final film either. As you see lots of stuff ends up on the cutting room floor, even though it is beautiful, brilliant stuff." Fans of Goldblum's role as the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok will certainly be disappointed by the news of Goldblum's absence. Goldblum certainly brought a heft bit of his signature eccentric humor to his role in the previous Thor film, and no doubt an interaction between the colorful Grandmaster and the gothy Gorr would have been an interesting interaction to say the least.
In a prior statement regarding his appearance or lack thereof, in the latest Thor film, Goldblum said, "Am I going to be in Love and Thunder? The truth is, and I can say it now because the trailer has come out, I appear in it," he said, teasingly. "It's my most challenging role to date, and I believe my highest accomplishment. I'm not seen visually. You never see me. And you don't hear me. Nor am I referred to, I believe, in any scene. I am sensed, only vibrationally. It's up to the viewer to pick up on that...But you will feel something, and it will be me."
Certainly, Goldblum's cheeky response has us missing him already. And though we may not be able to get the missing scenes between Bale and Goldblum in theaters, Bale was also keen to point out the film's strong suits as it was, a feat accomplished due to Waititi, saying that "[Waititi]'s done an incredible job with it."
Thor: Love and Thunder is the long-awaited follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok, and picks up on Thor's journey after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the lovable god, and he is joined by Chris Pratt's Star-Lord and his crew as they journey into space. Also joining the cast is Natalie Portman as Jane, Thor's ex-girlfriend and newly minted wielder of Mjolnir, Thor's hammer.
Thor: Love and Thunder will be released exclusively to theaters on July 8, 2022.