Once you play an iconic character, you’ve pretty much accepted that you’re going to be involved in conversations about that character until your dying day. Such is the case with every actor who has played Batman. It’s been a decade since Christian Bale last played Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, but he’s still frequently asked about the character and any new actor who takes the role.
Robert Pattinson took on the role of the Dark Knight last year in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which proved to be an enormous success. During the recent premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder, Christian Bale was asked by Variety‘s Marc Malkin what he thought of The Batman, but it turns out the actor hasn’t had time to see it yet.
I still haven’t seen it. I will see it. Listen, mate, it’s amazing how few films I see. Every director I work with, I’ve seen a couple of their films and they’re always looking at me going, ‘Are you kidding?’ I like to really savor films and I don’t watch too many. But I will, I certainly will. Robert is an absolutely wonderful actor. We bumped into each other, talked a little bit about it ahead of time, and I heard wonderful things.
When Robert Pattinson came under attack following his casting in 2019, Christian Bale came to his defence and offered a little advice. “Just make it [your] own, don’t listen to the naysayers,” Bale said. “That’s about it, everybody protested when Heath [Ledger] was cast as the Joker. Look what an absolutely brilliant performance he gave. Don’t listen to those guys, do his own thing. He’s a fascinating actor, he’s a great choice.” Give it another year and we’ll check-in to see if Christian Bale has watched The Batman yet.
Christian Bale will next be seen playing Gorr the God Butcher alongside Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson in Thor: Love and Thunder. The Marvel movie will be released on July 8th.