Christian Bale would return as Batman if Christopher Nolan gives him the go-ahead
After a brief hiatus from comic book movies, Christian Bale will be making his return next month. In Thor: Love and Thunder, the newest instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actor from The Dark Knight plays Gorr the God Butcher, Thor’s most deadly, threatening antagonist yet. This Marvel sequel will feature one of Bale’s most transformational turns, even in a career full of them, thanks to his departure from his tenure in the cape and cowl. However, would he be interested in playing a part that made him famous again? It is true that several actors have played Bruce Wayne, including Robert Pattinson in March’s The Batman, and Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck will reprise their roles in the upcoming film The Flash. But, would Bale really do it? The Academy Award victor would, but with a stipulation.
Bale mentioned that no efforts had been made to incorporate him. He says no one has reached out to him, and that he is treated “like a mushroom,” hidden away and fed garbage. But if Warner Bros execs were to consider the idea and bring it to the renowned actor, Bale would not be against it, so long as The Dark Knight trilogy and The Prestige director Christopher Nolan also returned to the DC property. It is not appearing probable that will happen very soon, but it is not impossible, either.
What Bale actually said was as follows:
For me, that would be a matter of Chris Nolan, if he ever decided to do it again and if he chose to come my way again, then yeah, I would consider it because that was always our pact between each other is we would just stick to it. We said we would only ever make three. And then I said to myself, and I’d only ever make it with Chris.
True, The Dark Knight Rises closes on a sorrowful note, but it is a final and satisfying one. As Bale points out, the trilogy was always intended to have three parts, thus the authors saw no reason to expand the tale any further. Bale has certainly been able to transition onto different cinematic projects without any difficulty. Bale has been nominated for an Academy Award for his work in American Hustle, Vice, and The Big Short, as well as the aforementioned Thor: Love and Thunder. Moreover, Nolan’s subsequent films, such as Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Tenet, continue to get critical praise. And his next feature, Oppenheimer, is already in production; it is set for release in 2023 and will undoubtedly be a much anticipated addition to the summer blockbuster season.
Despite sounding more positive than he did in 2019, when he said that Nolan’s ambition was always to do a trilogy and that it would “stretch too far and become overindulgent” if they went forward with another feature, Bale had previously been silent on the subject of a fourth Batman film. Bale’s “services were no longer required” at the time, and he has not been seen in the Batsuit since. It also does not appear that anybody is particularly eager to see him back in the role.
As a result, Bale is not desperate for employment at the moment, and the idea of reprising his role as Batman would only appeal to him if he thought it would be enjoyable or interesting to work with his frequent collaborator once again. Bale’s phone is buzzing, but no one from Warner Bros. is calling him right now. Yet, if Nolan turned on the Bat-Signal, Bale would not think twice about accepting the role.