Christian Bale said to be joining Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder

Holy Caped Crusader! Former Batman Christian Bale may be jumping ship from DC to Marvel to star alongside Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder. Having played the Dark Knight in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed Batman trilogy, Bale seems poised to join a rival comic book studio, indicates Collider.

Marvel Studios are yet to comment, so this should be taken with a pinch of salt. But if it's true, Bale will be bulking out the cast of the fourth Thor movie, directed by Taika Waititi and co-starring Natalie Portman. As revealed at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Portman will be inheriting the Thor mantle and lifting mythical hammer Mjolnir. Tessa Thompson will return as Valkyrie and Waititi is said to be reprising his scene-stealing performance as rock monster Korg from Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame. Kevin Feige will be producing.

Back in 2017, the aforementioned Ragnarok rejuvenated the somewhat stuffy Thor series, Waititi injecting the offbeat humour familiar from What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Thor: Love and Thunder is one of the pivotal movies in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which kicks off in May 2020 with the standalone Black Widow movie, starring Scarlett Johansson. Phase Four will also encompass Eternals (November 2020), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings (February 2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 2021).

Of course, Bale isn't the first actor to break cover and head for a rival studio. Ryan Reynolds went from DC's Green Lantern to Marvel's irreverent Deadpool. And Ben Affleck went from Marvel misfire Daredevil to DC with his role as Batman in Batman vs Superman and Justice League.

Bale has recently been seen in acclaimed racing drama Le Mans '66, playing maverick British racer Ken Miles. There are no more details about his possible Thor role, so stay tuned to the Cineworld blog for more details, and cast your own thoughts @Cineworld.