Could Christian Bale rise again as Batman? Dark Knight star explains the one way it could happen

Holy second comings, Batman! Could Christian Bale actually reprise his iconic Dark Knight trilogy role for another shot at justice? Much to the delight of present-day DC fans, Robert Pattinson is already racing back to the Batcave to take on a much-hyped sequel to The Batman. But believe it or not, the Caped Crusader who came before may not be entirely finished flinging bad guys — if, that is, the stars over Gotham align just right.

In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, Bale admitted he’s never been averse to stepping back behind the cowl since leaving Batman behind — seemingly for good — with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. But, he added, there’s just one way he’d ever add a fourth film to the groundbreaking movie trilogy that he and director Christopher Nolan brought to the big screen, beginning in 2005 with Batman Begins and continuing with 2008’s The Dark Knight.

If Nolan decides he’s not done spinning stories with the Batman who took out Heath Ledger’s Joker, it turns out, Bale says he’d suit up again in a heartbeat. All it would take, he explained, is a word from Nolan that it’s time to get the old Bat-family back together.

“I had a pact with Chris Nolan,”  Bale revealed. “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.”

While Bale sent up what seems like a pretty clear Bat-signal that he’d be interested in teaming with Nolan again to revive his dormant Dark Knight persona, there’s been no gossip in The Gotham Times to suggest a Nolan-Bale reunion is anywhere close to being in the works. Fresh from directing the mind-bending Tenet, Nolan’s been bunkered down with Oppenheimer, the upcoming historical biopic set to explore the scientific mind behind The Manhattan Project. Bale, meanwhile, has been busy with upcoming appearances in Thor: Love and Thunder (arriving in theaters July 8) and period mystery Amsterdam.

Whatever Nolan’s long-term plans might be, fans at least aren’t starved for fresh Batman shenanigans in the meantime. Pattinson and director Matt Reeves are already teaming up for a second installment in DC’s budding The Batman franchise, while HBO is plotting at least two spinoff series with Reeves that focus on Colin Farrell’s Penguin and, according to Variety, Arkham Asylum.

Bale separately confessed to Variety he hadn’t seen The Batman since the film debuted in March, but it sounds like he’s got total faith in Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne skills: “Robert is an absolutely wonderful actor,” he said. “We bumped into each other, talked a little bit about it [The Batman] ahead of time, and I heard wonderful things.”

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