Christian Bale Will Play Batman Again, On One Condition

Christian Bale has revealed he'd be interested in returning to play Batman again - but under one very specific condition.

The American Psycho star first played the beloved DC superhero in the excellent Batman Begins (2005), and returned for the unforgettable - and critically acclaimed - The Dark Knight (2008). Bale's final appearance as Batman came in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. But we don't talk about that one as much, because it kind of blew.

Despite a deeply uneven third movie, many hail the Dark Knight trilogy - and Bale's Batman - as a real bright spot in superhero cinema. Much of this, of course, comes down to director Christopher Nolan, who was able to create his own genre-defining take on Gotham City without studio interference or obligatory cameos that set up other movies.

In a recent interview, Bale admitted that he'd be up for putting on the suit for a fourth outing, but only if Nolan were the one to ask him.

“I had a pact with Chris Nolan,” the Oscar-winning actor told ScreenRant. “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.”

Bale added that past rumours suggesting he'd turned down previous offers to reprise the role simply aren't true.

“Occasionally, people say to me, ‘Oh, I hear you were approached and offered all this’,” he explained. “And I’m like, ‘That’s news to me. No one’s ever said that.'"

We'll next see Bale on the big screen as the villainous Gorr The God Butcher in Marvel's Thor: Love And Thunder.