Why did Christian Bale announce he has decided to quit Batman? The brooding actor allegedly told one of the big tabloid gossip magazines he is done, implying that without him playing the character the super hero movie series will never again have a successful box office run. Say what might be the right question to ask, but so what is probably the more appropriate phrase to be saying…
So much for playing a super hero. According to the tabloid US Weekly magazine, Batman actor Christian Bale was quoted as saying, “I wrapped a few days ago so that will be the last time I’m taking that [Batman hood] off…” The trusted source? The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Ya-huh.
Anyhow… they write Bale told them his take on the new Batman movie as well as the future of the franchise. With a foreboding message for the comic book movie fans that seemingly warns the movie series as a concept will be scrapped, Bale allegedly said, “I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done. Everything’s finished. It’s me and [director Christopher Nolan] — that will be the end of that Batman era.”
Say what? Batman done for as a movie franchise? Nah.
US Weekly (a celebrity gossip source famous for stirring the rumor mills pot) even took pause with the report. Following the quotes he is done playing Batman, they rightly noted the movie franchise history — even with Christian Bale playing the lead — had been a fiscally lucrative one.
They shared the history of Bale’s success riding on the coat tails of the iconic comic book character image by saying, “The era began in 2005, when Bale joined forces with Nolan to reinvigorate the flailing franchise, based on a series of graphic novels… The first film, Batman Begins, earned $372 million worldwide, though its sequel The Dark Knight (co-starring the late Heath Ledger) fared much better, earning $1 billion globally.”
While the Bale Batman era might have passed, the series still has a promising future. The past success of the Batman movies with different big name celebs playing the part of the iconic Bat cape crime crusader make any arrogant quote by Bale that would imply the legend series would never make a rise without him playing Batman unlikely.
Other actors who played Batman include Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney.
While Bale has been known in Hollywood social circles to have a colossal ego, even he has to know that should another director choose to redo another comic book with some younger or better actor in the future that die-hard sci-fi, fantasy movie, and action adventure movie fiction fans would go.
While The Dark Knight Rises hits movie theaters nationwide on July 20, 2012, there are no early predictors of the success of the film with him still anchoring the lead role.
Some controversy has arisen related to the casting of actress Anne Hathaway in the film with critics claiming she will never be able to fill the stiletto heel boots of predecessors like Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry. Actually, people who follow pop culture history and who attend things like Comic Con have spent far more time talking about her than him — or any of the other members of the all-star cast for that matter this fall movie season.
But fan concerns that Bale’s words to the press imply no future Batman movies will be made or succeed ever seems to be over reactions. Only those movie scripts cast without Christian Bale will be made, Hollywood screen play writers will have to suppose.
And nice people who love the fantasy films seem to be okay with that. Why? Because while Anne Hathaway scandal reports surface now and again that tie her to some unsavory love interest or sizzle when the Disney princess and famous humanitarian does something out of character, the press on Christian Bale (from a good deeds angle) always runs a bit thin.
With her in the films playing any future Catwoman (in the foreseeable future), non-profit organizations like the children’s charity the Lollipop Theater get plenty of free press.
With Christian Bale playing Batman, the free press is not always what the movie makes have to want. Instead of casting someone like green celebrity George Clooney — who devotes countless hours of his life helping Haitian earthquake victims and people at risk of genocide in Darfur — earning the entire cast and film crew great free press, headlines about the movie franchise tend to read things like “Bale went Ballistic” and “Christian Bale Rant (Transcription)” cast a smarmy shadow of doom across the rest.
[He might play a hero on the big screen but in real life is known for being a bully. Combine his bad attitude with Christopher Nolan’s dark interpretation of the characters and you get exactly what has happened the past decade — the fun has been taken out of watching the films and a generation of kids has grown up not knowing what it means to want to play Batman.]
As far as playing a popular kids character that is supposed to inspire heroic action in citizens, all Bale seems to do when on a set or off cam in his person life is not play nice.
For that reason, while we’re pretty sure Bale might elect to walk away from his cherry position playing Batman nowadays, we here at the Green Celebrity Network are also convinced the Batman movie series will (sometime hopefully in the not too distant future) see brighter days without him.
Maybe someone like Jake Gyllenhaal could step up to play the hero in a more family friendly future installment? After all, ladies and gents thought he was equally amazing playing the lead role in Disney’s action adventure movie the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Then you could cast Anne Hathaway again as Catwoman (knowing their chemistry from Love and Other Drugs would make them successful). Make vegetarian Tron actress Olivia Wilde his co-star as a new love interest or hire her to replace Uma Thurman as the character Poison Ivy (who sexy but toxic reality TV star Kim Kardashian just dressed up like for Halloween). Then, you would really have yourself a winning dynamic of cast and crew both on and off-screen.
Christian Bale bailed on the Batman movie series? So what? That’s all I am saying.