Kate Bush has been in the news a lot recently. First, it was because her song Running Up That Hill became a major hit 37 years on from its initial release after it was memorably used in hit Netflix series Stranger Things.
Now, actor Christian Bale has revealed that her music almost inspired a dance scene in Thor: Love and Thunder - Oh what could have been.
Talking to Total Film about the influences of his role as supervillain Gorr the God Butcher, Bale said: “There’s obviously sort of a Nosferatu slight attitude. Taika and I wanted to do a whole dance, which we didn’t get to do, but we had all this sort of Kate Bush stuff that we worked at. But I think he just realised he was never going to be allowed to put that in the final film.”
He added that Aphex Twin was also a big influence: “I would say that the most common thing I was staring at was the Aphex Twin video of Come To Daddy. But I don’t even know if that will be in the final film.”
Gorr the God Butcher first appeared in the Marvel Comics in 2013 and will make his live-action debut in the upcoming film. In the comics, he possesses a special blade that allows him to fly at extreme speeds, make weapons, and create tendrils that can even kill gods.
The role will see Bale return to the world of superheroes and supervillains for the first time since 2012. The actor is arguably best known for his role as Batman in the DC Comics blockbusters Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
Thor: Love and Thunder is the fourth major Thor film since the release of Thor in 2011 starring Chris Hemsworth as the Norse god.
However, the character has also popped up in dozens of other Marvel Studios franchises, including 2012’s The Avengers, 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2016’s Doctor Strange, and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
This month, Bush saw her 1985 track soar to the top of music charts after becoming a plot motif of main character Max Mayfield in season four of Stranger Things.
Running Up That Hill currently sits at number one in the UK charts and peaked at number four in the American charts last week - the first time Bush has ever had a top 10 hit in the US.
In a rare interview on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour with Emma Barnett today, Bush said that the situation was, “just extraordinary… quite shocking really, isn’t it? I mean, the whole world’s gone mad.”
She added: “It’s such a great series, I thought that the track would get some attention. But I just never imagined that it would be anything like this.”
