Christian Bale is already making a big impact on the MCU as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder, with early reviews raving about the actor’s portrayal of the latest Marvel villain. When it comes to returning to his previous comic book role of Batman though, the actor is more than open to doing it, but only if Christopher Nolan was leading the movie.
It is now a decade since Chris Nolan and Christian Bale brought their Dark Knight trilogy to a close, and while there have been plenty of actors returning to their previous comic book roles, such as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Michael Keaton’s upcoming Batman return for The Flash and Batgirl movies, Christian Bale discussed his specific requirements for donning the Batsuit again with Screen Rant. He said:
“No. No one's ever mentioned it to me. No one's brought it up. [...] Occasionally people say to me, "Oh, I hear you were approached and offered all this." And I'm like, "That's news to me. No one's ever said that."
I had a pact with Chris Nolan. 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.”
Could Christian Bale Return as Gorr in a Future Movie?
Although it is tradition for the bad guy to get his comeuppance in Marvel movies, Gorr the God Butcher has already been said to be the most sympathetic villain to have graced the MCU. With this in mind, could the fearsome foe actually be redeemed in Thor: Love and Thunder and potentially return again in the future. While speaking at the premiere of the movie, Bale seemed to hint that this could well be the case.
Speaking about the “dance” that he and director Taika Waititi had originally been planning to include in the movie, he went on to say that it could be “something they do in the next movie.” While this could easily just be a throwaway remark, there were plenty of fans who picked up on it, and as of yet, there has been no confirmation or denial one way or the other about Gorr’s future, although that could all be explained when the movie releases next week.
So far, Christian Bale is just one of the reasons that Thor: Love and Thunder is getting some really strong first reviews, but this MCU seems to be one of the most ensemble pieces to come from Marvel Studios for a long while, with everyone involved seemingly playing their roles perfectly, from Chris Hemsworth in the title role to Natalie Portman’s return to the franchise as Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor. How Thor: Love and Thunder will fare at the box office has yet to be seen, but many will be expecting the movie to potentially become Marvel’s first $1 billion movie of the year.