Christian Bale hasn’t shut the door completely on playing Bruce Wayne/Batman for a fourth time on the big screen. There’s just one stipulation: Christopher Nolan must direct. The Oscar-winning actor recently told ScreenRant that he’d put on the Dark Knight’s cape once more as long as Nolan’s back in the director’s chair. Nolan directed Bale in three Batman movies, with “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises” both grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
“No. No one’s ever mentioned it to me. No one’s brought it up,” Bale said when asked about reprising Batman. “Occasionally people say to me, ‘Oh, I hear you were approached and offered all this.” And I’m like, ‘That’s news to me. No one’s ever said that.’”
More from Variety
“I had a pact with Chris Nolan,” Bale added. “We said, ‘Hey, look. Let’s make three films, if we’re lucky enough to get to do that. And then let’s walk away. Let’s not linger too long.’ In my mind, it would be something if Chris Nolan ever said to himself, ‘You know what, I’ve got another story to tell.’ And if he wished to tell that story with me, I’d be in.”
Together, Nolan and Bale redefined the comic book movie with their grounded approach to the genre in “Batman Begins.” With the 2008 sequel “The Dark Knight,” the duo delivered what many still regard as the greatest superhero movie ever made. Since Bale finished playing Batman, both Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson have taken on the role. The latter earned acclaim earlier this year for “The Batman,” which grossed $770 million worldwide (far more than the $373 million of Bale’s launcher “Batman Begins”).
“I still haven’t seen it. I will see it,” Bale recently told Variety about “The Batman.” “Listen, mate, it’s amazing how few films I see. Every director I work with, I’ve seen a couple of their films and they’re always looking at me going, ‘Are you kidding?’ I like to really savor films and I don’t watch too many. But I will, I certainly will.”
Bale added, “Robert is an absolutely wonderful actor. We bumped into each other, talked a little bit about it ahead of time, and I heard wonderful things.”
Next up for Bale is a return to comic book movies thanks to his villain role as Gorr the God Butcher in “Thor: Love and Thunder,” opening nationwide July 8.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
