Christian Bale says his fear of having to wear a G-string almost kept him from joining Thor: Love and Thunder

A tiny piece of fabric almost kept Christian Bale from his return to superhero films.

Bale, who plays the villainous Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder, told The Wrap in a new interview that his character's revealing outfit and muscular appearance in the comic books gave him pause about accepting the role.

"I did have a look briefly and said, 'He's got a G-string on. Nobody wants to see me like that,'" said the former Batman. "He was also crazy musclebound in the comics. And I was in the middle of making another film where I was really quite skinny. I said, 'Dude, nobody wants to see me in a G-string.'"

Bale, 48, is known for his radical bodily transformations. He dropped a ton of weight for 2004's The Machinist and then packed on the pounds to play Dick Cheney in 2018's Vice. But before jumping into Thor: Love and Thunder, he was coming off a project that kept him on the leaner side­... and then there was the issue of his Marvel costar.

"You can't really compete with Chris [Hemsworth] when it comes to being muscular anyway," Bale joked in a recent interview with EW. (See the video above.)

His hesitation led him to brainstorm a new concept for the character with director Taika Waititi — a look that was less physically intimidating and more magically menacing. Bale wanted Gorr to resemble Nosferatu or the terrifying monster in Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" video.

"So I'm gonna be skinny and have a more supernatural vibe and creepiness to it," Bale told EW, recalling their conversation. "More of a wee-wee, sort of creepy feel to it felt right."

Then again, there was always the chance Waititi would have the final word on that G-string in post.

"I always did think what he could do with this in front of a blue screen," Bale told Total Film last month. "He could chuck on whatever he wants later on."

In the end, Bale took to the screen to menace Hemsworth's Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster/Mighty Thor with pale skin and a flowy, more demure robe.

Thor: Love and Thunder opened Friday. EW critic Leah Greenblatt gave it a B thanks to Waititi's "Technicolor lunacy" and an inordinately game cast.

Watch EW's Around the Table interview with the cast above.

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