Christian Bale Says People Laughed At Him Over Playing Batman

Christian Bale was praised for his performance at Batman in Christopher Nolan’s film series, but not everyone believed the actor was making the right call to sign on to play the Caped Crusader.

Bale told The Washington Post that many people laughed at him when he talked about attempting to play a more serious version of Batman following the more over-the-top film adaptations that came before. The films went on to make billions and help propel comic book movies into the spotlight, so Bale got the last laugh.

Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman

“I would [tell people] we’re going to sort of do Batman, but take him seriously. I had tons of people laugh at me and just say, ‘Well that’s just not going to work at all,'” he said. “So, it’s wonderful to be a part of a trilogy that proved those people wrong. I’m not certain if it kick-started [the MCU] but it certainly helped along the way.”

Bale starred as Batman in Batman Begins (2005), Batman: The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The movies collectively made around $2.4 billion at the global box office.

Bale, who won an Oscar for The Fighter, will be seen next in the superhero movie Thor: Love and Thunder as the villain Gorr the God Butcher. He went on to say that he hasn’t ruled out appearing in another comic book film, though it all depends on the story and director.

“I don’t have any goodbye and thank you unless other people say to me ‘goodbye and thank you, please never revisit this again’ then I’ll take their word for it,” Bale said. “But otherwise a good story is a good story. A good film is a good film. And a good director is a good director. And I’m open to any of those ideas.”

Bale previously said he would consider coming back to play Batman again if Nolan also returned as director. Before that, Bale said he “didn’t quite nail it” with regards to his performance as Batman.

Thor: Love and Thunder releases in theaters this Friday, July 8, and it’s expected to be a box office juggernaut. For more, check out GameSpot’s Thor: Love and Thunder review and what other critics are saying.

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