A rumor circulating throughout the super hero film community says that Christian Bale, the actor who portrayed Batman in Christopher Nolan's immensely popular "Dark Knight" trilogy, has been offered a heft $50 million to go back on his statement that he's ready to pass the cowl onto another actor and reprise his role to square off against Henry Cavill's Superman in Warner Bros. Man of Steel 2.
Unfortunately for fans of Bale's caped crusader, the rumors are not exactly coming from Warner Bros. According to Entertainment Weekly, the buzz centers around an article in the British Sun newspaper that reported Bale was facing "extraordinary pressure" to return to the role. The source for the tabloid, however, was a book titled "Beyond Batman: The Unauthorized True Story of Christian Bale and His Dark Knight Dilemma." It's a 27-page mini-book from an author named Vincent Russel.
In the book, he writes: "'Why would Christian Bale walk away from what is certainly going to be either the first or second highest grossing movie in the history of cinema," he asked, when the subject of Justice League was raised. ... 'He could probably make $50 million for being in the movie 20 minutes,' my friend observed. 'And it would be worth every penny to the studio.' ... Sources close to Christian Bale have reportedly begun expressing their suspicions that Bale now views the Batman films in the same light that Robert Downey, Jr. views the Iron Man films. Although Downey has appeared as Tony Stark in four films in less than a decade, he's hardly typecast as only Iron Man. Downey has balanced his action film escapades with other projects that have harnessed his talents and earned critical acclaim in the process. ... Christian Bale's future success as a Hollywood draw may need Batman every bit as much as the Batman franchise needs Bale for a few more rounds. ... It goes without saying that Bale's managers, friends, and representatives are all telling him the same. And as anyone who has ever worked with Bale will admit, the actor is incredibly sharp, business savvy, and perceptive. As a result, it seems highly unlikely that Christian Bale will bolt from Batman when the bat signal is still glimmering above the Hollywood sign with such tangible fervor."
As EW points out, this does not equate to a $50 million offer being on the table for Bale. Instead, an unnamed "friend" of Russel's says he believed that Bale could get that price for showing up in the movie for all of twenty minutes. The friend reportedly said this eight months before "Man of Steel" even hit theaters.
In addition, Man of Steel director Zack Snyder has said he'd like a slightly older gentleman to play his version of Batman. While Bale certainly could pull that off at age 39, it's not necessarily the direction the studio wants to go in, despite the fact that Nolan's name is attached to the project.
What do you think? Is Christian Bale the right choice for a Batman to fight Superman or should the "Dark Knight" trilogy rest in peace? Comment and share your thoughts below.
