Itโs almost an unspoken rule of science these days: any mention of Batman / Bruce Wayne, be it in the context of cinema or otherwise, will invariably direct the conversation towards Christian Bale. A small consequence of knocking it out of the park. And as it turns out, the famously dedicated actor is fully open to reprising his second most iconic role. Under the right circumstances, that is.
During a recent interview with Screenrant, the Thor: Love And Thunder star laid out the non-negotiable requirement for him to dust off the old cape and cowl.
โI had a pact with [Christopher] Nolan. We said, โHey look. Letโs make three films, if weโre lucky enough to get to do that. And then letโs walk away. Letโs not linger too long,'โ explained Christian Bale, whose tenure as โthe worldโs greatest detectiveโ originally spanned from 2005 to 2012.
RELATED: โAmerican Psychoโ Cast Thought Christian Bale Was โThe Worst Actor Theyโd Ever Seenโ
โIn my mind, it would be something if Chris Nolan ever said to himself, โYou know what, Iโve got another story to tell.โ And if he wished to tell that story with me, Iโd be in.โ
Back in 2019, Christian Bale revealed that Warner Bros had in fact pitched a fourth film to succeed Nolanโs Dark Knight trilogy. Out of respect for the high-concept directorโs vision, however, he decided to walk away and leave Gotham City in the past.
โWhen they inevitably came to us and said, โHow about a #4?โ I said, โNo. We have to stick to Chrisโ dream.โ Which was always to, hopefully, do a trilogy,โ Bale told the Toronto Sun.
โLetโs not stretch too far and become overindulgent and go for a fourth. Thatโs why we, well Chris, stepped away.โ
RELATED: How Christopher Nolan Changed The Game With โBatman Beginsโ
So has anything changed since then? Is there anything actually in development as of now? Perhaps a cameo appearance we can expect in DCโs upcoming The Flash alongside Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck a la Spiderman: No Way Home?
โNo, no, no. Nobody, nobody reaches out to me or they keep me like a mushroom: keep me in the dark and feed me shit,โ joked Christian Bale.
โNo oneโs ever mentioned it to me. No oneโs brought it upโฆ Occasionally people say to me, โOh I hear you were approached and offered all this.โ And Iโm like, โThatโs news to me. No oneโs ever said that.'โ
Considering how Warner Brosโ relationship with Nolan has soured between the release of Tenet and the production of his deeply ambitious J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic starring Cillian Murphy alongside half of Hollywoodโs most in-demand names, itโs safe to say the chances of seeing a fourth instalment are about as likely as seeing Inception 2. Zero.
Thereโs more where that came from: we watched and ranked every single Christopher Nolan movie. Check it out now.
