Christian Bale Would Only Return as Batman on One Condition

Christian Bale is set to return to the superhero genre in Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder, where he plays the villainous Gorr The God Butcher. But before Bale stepped onto the role of the menacing Gorr, he first played DC's caped crusader in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy. Several actors have recreated the classic Bat vigilante throughout the years after Bale officially retired in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, yet, his performance as Bruce Wayne still remains the gold standard of iconic Batman performances. Now, what are the odds of seeing Christian Bale as Batman again?

While doing a press interview for Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder, where he plays Gorr The God Butcher, the former Batman actor clarified that he was not approached to return to the role of the DC bat vigilante. "No. No one's ever mentioned it to me," Bale told Screenrant. "No one's brought it up. [...] 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."

"I had a pact with Chris Nolan. 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." he added. "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."

Although fans have now found their new caped crusader in Robert Pattinson's The Batman, former actors can still return to reprise their own versions of Bruce Wayne. According to recent reports, former Batman actors Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton would reportedly return in Ezra Miller's The Flash. With Keaton and Affleck's rumored return, this also opens the opportunity for Bale to reprise his fan-favorite version of Bruce Wayne, as long as Nolan also returns.

Nolan and Bale's version of Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy is easily comparable to Matt Reeves' The Batman, as the two directors both focused on more grounded and realistic stories and characters. Now that Bale has finally spoken up about potentially coming back in the DC Universe, it's up to Warner Bros. how and which universe could Bale's Bruce Wayne returns to.

The Batman is available to stream on HBO Max.

Also read: Christian Bale Reveals Why He Hasn't Seen Robert Pattinson's The Batman Yet