Christian Bale On ‘Batman V Superman’: What Did The Previous Dark Knight Have To Say?
Christian Bale’s opinion of Batman V Superman might surprise you. The former dark knight, and the only one to successfully play the role for a full series, was asked what he thought of Ben Affleck as the new caped crusader.
Technically, it was The Dark Knight which landed Bale as one of the best-loved actors to play the role. Batman Begins was more of an origin story, explaining less about his dead parents (which previous films seemed to reference as much as Spider-Man‘s Uncle Ben talked about responsibility), and more about the path Bruce Wayne took to becoming the dark knight.
The Dark Knight Rises was still good, but Bale’s growling vocals from under the cowl were criticized and became a source of jokes used everywhere from CollegeHumor to How it Should have Ended. Despite this, Bale was also the only actor who stayed with the role to the end, making him a key rival to Michael Keaton.
One fan theory revealed by Yahoo News is that Christian Bale will still be in Batman V Superman. The idea is that he retired from the suit by the end of The Dark Knight Rises, and Ben Affleck is only playing a character who steps in for Bruce Wayne.
Bale has shot that theory down, though. Even though Producer Charles Roven had a lot to do with both Christopher Nolan’s films and the upcoming Zack Snyder version, Christian Bale has stated, “I haven’t heard that. This is the first I’ve heard of it. I think it’s pretty clear that Ben [Affleck] is playing Batman now. … No, it’s not happening.”
No, this isn’t another one of those Star Trek: Into Darkness cover-ups (in case you missed it, Benedict Cumberbatch was actually playing the role of Khan despite denying it). Ben Affleck, not Christian Bale, really is Bruce Wayne in Batman V Superman.
Christian Bale has no ill-feelings toward Ben Affleck, either, according to E! Online. At one point, they ran into each other in a store — right next to the Batman costumes. Ben stated that Christian Bale had some advice for him about Batman V Superman.
“My son is really into Batman, wisely. We went to a store, a costume store in Los Angeles. It was pretty empty and I was in the aisle and I heard this ‘Oi!’ and I turned around, and it’s Christian Bale, who is the sweetest guy in the world. And there he and I are, standing in the Batman costume row and I said, ‘Look man, you’re the best. Like, what do you think? Do you have any tips?'”
Much like Val Kilmer’s advice to George Clooney, Bale had an amusing anecdote, “Make sure you can p*ss in that suit.”
Marvel fans might want to reference the scene where Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) did just that in Iron Man 2. Hopefully, Zack Snyder isn’t planning on a scene like that.
Christian Bale’s thoughts on Batman V Superman are surprisingly neutral, “I’m not thinking anything. I’m sort of totally oblivious to it – I’ve removed myself but, um, you know, yeah, I mean, great … I’m happy to have to done it and I’m happy to see what someone else does with it.”
Christian Bale Debunks Stupid Fan Theory That He’s Playing #Batman In #BatmanVSuperman https://t.co/qCNg8GqIPI pic.twitter.com/l6IminCVMN
— Hero Rundown (@HeroRundown) November 13, 2015
Unlike many fans who remember Ben Affleck’s original superhero role of Daredevil, Bale isn’t going in with any preconceptions. If anything, Affleck’s alleged marital problems with Jennifer Garner might even leak into his role and help make him a more believable Batman than some haters expect.
Whatever Ben Affleck does with the role, fans can rest easy knowing Christian Bale is eager to see Batman V Superman for what it is.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI]
