Christian Bale first played the Caped Crusader in 2005's Batman Begins, and later reprised the role in The Dark Knight in 2008 and again one final time in 2012 for The Dark Knight Rises.
The actor is remembered as a great Bruce Wayne/Batman, though his overly gruff voice while suited up is still the subject of many a meme. Now, Bale has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thor: Love and Thunder's Gorr the God Butcher, another serious role for a pretty serious actor.
Talking to The Washington Post, Bale reflected on the way his and Christopher Nolan's plans to deliver a different type of Batman (after the campy movies of the past) were initially ridiculed.
"I would [tell people] we’re going to sort of do Batman, but take him seriously. I had tons of people laugh at me and just say, 'Well, that’s just not going to work at all,'" he recalls. "So, it’s wonderful to be a part of a trilogy that proved those people wrong. I’m not certain if it kick-started [the MCU] but it certainly helped along the way."
The Dark Knight was released the same year as Iron Man, while The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises both came out in 2012. There's no denying that the trilogy's success helped the superhero movie genre, though, and it took Marvel Studios a while before they could rival the critical and commercial success of The Dark Knight Trilogy.
A decade after the last of those movies was released, The Batman put the character back on the right track, though Warner Bros. plans to focus on multiple versions of the character moving forward (including the versions played by Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton).
However, we shouldn't bank on Bale returning based on recent comments from the actor.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters.
About The Author:
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.