Not for the first time, Christian Bale reiterated that the only way he would be willing to suit up and return as Batman was if Christopher Nolan agreed to make a comeback of his own, but the actor more than likely knows full well that it isn’t going to happen.
Sure, The Dark Knight Rises may have left a huge number of fans crushingly disappointed thanks to its various plot holes, undercooked third act, and divisive ending, but at least Bale’s Caped Crusader was allowed to ride off into the sunset on his own terms having completed a three-film arc with a beginning, middle, and end.
Then again, we’re living in the age of legacy sequels where no marketable IP is ever truly safe from being dusted off and thrown back onto the screen, and that’s without even mentioning that next year’s The Flash features both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as Batman, a scenario that would have sounded ludicrous as recently as a couple of years ago.
However, Dark Knight trilogy defenders over on Reddit have made it clear that they’re not all that enthused at the hypothetical prospect of a fourth chapter in Bale’s story, especially when he was afforded the rare opportunity to bow out with no more open-ended plot points to resolve. Well, other than the eye-rolling Robin reveal, but Bruce Wayne isn’t required for that one.
Thor: Love and Thunder marks only Bale’s third non-Batman blockbuster appearance in the last 20 years, and he’s never given off the impression that he’s motivated by money, so we’d feel pretty confident in stating that the Academy Award winner won’t be reuniting with Nolan for another adventure, especially when the latter has also cut ties with Warner Bros for the first time in decades.