Christian Bale explains why he turned down a fourth Batman movie

Many Batman fans consider Christian Bale’s interpretation of the conflicted antihero to be one of the very best. Indeed, his debut as Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005) kicked off a new golden age for the Caped Crusader. Bale and Nolan made two more Batman movies — The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) — and according to Bale, Warner Bros. was totally willing to make more.

While promoting his latest flick, Ford vs. Ferrari, Bale talked to the Toronto Sun, and Batman came up. Bale says that he and Nolan worked hard to concentrate on making each individual film the best it could be and never assumed they would end up making three. “We knew we had to reinvent it,” Bale remembered. “I literally had people laugh at me when I told them we were doing a new kind of Batman.

"I think that the reason it worked was first and foremost Chris’ take on it. But also we never were arrogant to assume that we had an opportunity beyond one film at a time. That’s something that Chris always would talk about. He’d say, “This is it. We’re making one film. That’s all we’ve got.” Then when they (Warner Bros.) came and said, “You want to go make another?” It was fantastic, but we still said, “This is it. We will not get another opportunity.”"

Of course, the Nolan/Bale Batman movies proved incredibly popular, and they did get another opportunity. And after The Dark Knight Rises, they got yet another, but by that point, things had changed, as Bale explained:

"Then when they inevitably came to us and said, “How about a No. 4?” I said, “No. We have to stick to Chris’ dream, which was always to, hopefully, do a trilogy. Let’s not stretch too far and become overindulgent and go for a fourth.” That’s why we, well Chris, stepped away. After that I was informed my services were no longer required."

Watching The Dark Knight Rises, it’s pretty clear that Nolan was ending his take on the story, with Bruce Wayne retiring and a drastically altered Gotham City facing a new future. That didn’t stop the Batman movie train, of course, with Ben Affleck taking on the role for two more films. And we’ve got another installment on the way in 2021, The Batman, with Robert Pattinson (Twilight) starring as man himself.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – JULY 16: Henry Cavill attends the ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ Korea Press Conference and Photo Call at Lotte Hotel Seoul on July 16, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

When you think of Batman, Superman usually isn’t far from your mind. Henry Cavill, who’s currently playing the leading role in Netflix’s Witcher series, played that iconic superhero opposite Affleck’s Batman in a couple of movies. Like Affleck, we’d assumed that he’d exited the role, but maybe not?

Speaking to Men’s Health, Cavill said he’s still interested in playing the Man of Tomorrow. “I’m not just going to sit quietly in the dark as all this stuff is going on,” Cavill said, referring to the dustup in the DC Extended Universe following the release of Justice League. “I’ve not given up the role. There’s a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do …That’s important to me. There’s a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You’ll see.”

RELATED PRODUCT

Batman Comic Con Exclusive Eekeez Figurine

Buy Now!

Buy Now!

Might Cavill play Superman opposite two different actors playing Batman? We’ll take his advice and wait to see.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t CBR