Christian Bale hanging up the cowl to join Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder

Director Taika Waititi’s MCU debut, Thor: Ragnarok, introduced a ton of unexpected actors into the Marvel stable, including Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum ... and himself. Now his Thor-based follow-up, Thor: Love and Thunder, might have just landed another A-lister to join Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman’s various versions of the Avenger.

Collider reports that Christian Bale, the ex-Dark Knight himself, is in talks to join the film as a yet-undisclosed character. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed this news. While the Grandmaster and Korg are both confirmed to return to the film, which hints that at least some of the film will take place in space, the movie’s basis will be Jason Aaron's mid-2010s Thor run of comics where Jane Foster wields Mjolnir. That storyline features Cul, the God of Fear, and the Congress of the Worlds on Asgard.

Perhaps Bale is playing either Cul or a member of the Congress — taking a minor character and turning him into, perhaps, a villain for the tag team of Thors to tackle. Cul would be an odd choice simply because the previous Thor films have explored his godly family plenty and, somehow, Odin’s brother never came up. But don’t count out Waititi’s own creativity for turning the former Batman into a Marvel figure.

"We’re not sure if we’re going to do a complete lift of that whole storyline," Waititi said of his comic source material. "These things change through the shoot and even when we’re editing sometimes. Like 'Let’s get rid of that storyline where she’s got breast cancer. We’ll change it to something else, or maybe she’s fine.'” Who do you think Bale could play? Beta Ray Bill?

The multiple Thors will bring both Love and Thunder when the film hits theaters on Nov. 5, 2021.