Christian Bale discussed the reason why he and Christopher Nolan turned down the chance to do a fourth Batman film.
Director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy offered audiences a relatively more grounded take on Batman than audiences were accustomed to at the time, with Christian Bale in the role of the Caped Crusader for all three installments. For better or for worse, Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s Dark Knight trilogy is often credited with reinventing comic book films and the former Batman actor reflected on this during an interview with the Toronto Sun.
When asked if he and Christopher Nolan knew their take on Batman could reinvent comic book films while making the trilogy, Christian Bale noted that they both believed they had to do something new with the material. However, Christian Bale added that he and Christopher Nolan worked under the impression that they may only get one chance to make a Batman film:
“We knew we had to reinvent it. 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.”
Of course, Warner Bros. would later ask Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan to return for a second and third Batman film, but the director always intended to step away after completing a trilogy. So, when Warner Bros. approached Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale for a fourth film, the former Batman actor told them he wanted to respect the director’s wish to close the series with a trilogy:
“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 (laughs).”
Would you have enjoyed seeing Christian Bale play Batman for a fourth time, even without Christopher Nolan in the director’s chair? Let us know below!
Warner Bros. is now moving forward with a new take on Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves from a script he co-wrote with Mattson Tomlin, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, and Jayme Lawson as Bella. Recently, Colin Farrell was reportedly in talks to play the Penguin while Andy Serkis was in talks to portray Alfred Pennyworth. The Batman will be released in theaters on June 25, 2021.
All three chapters of Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s Batman trilogy are now available on 4k Ultra-HD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital HD.
Source: Toronto Sun
