Here’s What Christian Bale Could Look Like as Marvel’s Mephisto

Earlier this week, news broke that former Batman star Christian Bale is in talks to join the cast of the upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder. The report couldn’t specify what role Bale would be playing, but that hasn’t stopped folks from speculating. The artist known as BossLogic has thrown his hat into that ring, creating a piece that imagines Bale as Marvel’s devilish deal-maker, Mephisto. “Just sign here, Asgard shall be restored,” BossLogic tweeted with the image. He seems to be imaging a story where Mephisto would offer to restore the realm of Asgard to its former glory. As Marvel fans may know, Mephisto’s deals always come at a price.

Mephisto is one of Marvel’s lords of hell. He’s known for striking Faustian bargains. His most notorious deal is when he restored Spider-Man’s secret identity but undid the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in the process. Mephisto played a significant role in Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet stoyline. This led some fans to wonder if he could appear in Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame. That did not turn out to be the case, leaving the character free to debut in another Marvel project.

Mephisto is a major Avengers villains, but not one often associated with Thor. If he is to appear in an upcoming project, the WandaVision television series and Doctor Strange sequel are more likely choices. He’s long been a rival to heroes with connections to magic, including Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange.

Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi returns to direct Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth will reprise his role as Thor, though he won’t be the only god of thunder this time around. Natalie Portman is reprising her role as Jane Foster for a story inspired by the recent Thor story in which Jane becomes the new Thor. Tessa Thompson is also set to return as Valkyrie.

Would you like to see Christian Bale play Mephisto in Thor: Love and Thunder or another Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know what you think about the idea in the comments. Thor: Love in Thunder opens in theaters on November 5, 2021.

Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, WandaVision in 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, Loki in spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If? In summer 2021, Hawkeye in fall 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk are also in the works for Disney+.