14 DAY TRIAL // A short time before Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in Warner Bros.’ upcoming “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” the rumor mill was saying that Christian Bale was considering reprising the role he’d played in Chris Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy even though Nolan would no longer be directing him.
Warners, much like the fans, wanted him back badly, and to that end, it was throwing money by the fistful at him: insiders familiar with the production claimed that he was being offered somewhere around $60 million (€48.6 million) for just one film as Batman.
Even in Hollywood, where bankability can have nothing to do with one actor’s real skills, that was a lot of money. It never happened, though.
Bale does Esquire, delivers a beautiful interview
Bale has a new movie coming out this month, the Ridley Scott-directed epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” in which he plays Moses. He’s already done a brilliant interview with the Wall Street Journal to promote it, and he’s now talking to Esquire about the film, the role, his career, and so, so much more.
If you’re a fan of his work, you know that he gives the most amazing interviews: Bale has the reputation of a rage monster who can explode at a moment’s notice, but in print (and in reality, as per the accounts of those who spoke to him), he comes across as a very nice, very polite, funny, smart, and articulate man.
His Esquire piece is a pleasure to read, especially since no topic is off limits: he talks about his early movies, the passion he invests in every project he takes up, his intensity in building a character for the camera, his infamous on-set rants, his favorite people, directors he’s worked with, and of course, Batman.
Christian Bale wasn’t asked back as Batman
Which brings us to our headline: Christian Bale was never asked back for Batman. He might have done it if they asked him, even though he’s come to realize that growing old means some roles are just too physically demanding for him, this being one of them.
Bale laughs as he recalls how he got a herniated disk on the set of “The Dark Knight Rises,” the third installment, when he wasn’t paying attention to a scene with Tom Hardy (Bane) and he got punched so hard he landed on concrete steps. With age, you get “slower and slower, and sloppier and people are really starting to punch you,” he says.
Still, the love he has for the character might have prompted him to give it a second thought, but he was never asked. There were no negotiations and no, no one was throwing millions at him.
“I think it’s the right decision. People were talking about this obscene amount of money they were saying was thrown at me. No. I didn’t have a single conversation with anybody about ever playing the role again,” he says.
Christian Bale and Batman are done for good
“Never say never,” the Esquire reporter tells him, hinting that he might want to keep the door open to the possibility of a cameo, at the very least.
It’s not going to happen, though: Christian Bale is done for good with Batman. He would never revisit the character if he weren’t able to give it his best, and that will never happen again because his time (the time of his take on the iconic Caped Crusader, that is) is over.
When Ben Affleck was cast as Batman, a new chapter began for this character – and Christian Bale knows the most diplomatic thing to do right now is to not encourage gossip about a possible future return, because he’s long said goodbye to Batman.
He still gets to keep the cowl from “The Dark Knight Rises,” and every once in a while, at the request of his daughter’s friends, he brings back the Batman voice. And that’s all there is – and will ever be – to it.
