Christian Bale discusses possibility of returning as Batman

Could Christian Bale ever follow Michael Keaton's lead and make a return as Batman? Well, the answer is more surprising than you'd think.

Speaking to Screen Rant, while doing press for Thor: God and Thunder where he plays the villainous Gorr the God Butcher, Bale admitted he would reprise his DC role, but only if he was able to reteam with The Dark Knight Trilogy director Christopher Nolan.

"No. No one's ever mentioned it to me. No one's brought it up," Bale said about making a comeback as Batman. "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.'"

Warner Bros.

The Oscar winner continued by highlighting the only reason why he'd return.

"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. 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."

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Not only were Nolan's Batman films acclaimed, but they were also box office successes. Starting with 2005's Batman Begins earning over $371 million, The Dark Knight took over $1 billion in 2008.

It also earned Heath Ledger an Oscar for his iconic performance as The Joker.

Finally, in 2012, The Dark Knight Rises closed the story and joined the billion-dollar club, making $1.081 billion at the box office.

Warner Bros.

However, Nolan is focusing on other projects at the moment and he hasn't been involved with Warner Bros since the release of his pandemic hit Tenet in 2020; the British filmmaker is now at Universal working on Oppenheimer.

Even though Keaton is coming back after 31 years since wearing the legendary DC character's costume in The Flash and Batgirl, even Ben Affleck is saying his final goodbyes in the Ezra Miller-led superhero flick.

Thor: Love and Thunder has a release date of July 7 in the UK and July 8 in the US. The other three Thor movies are available to stream now on Disney+.