Batman Goes "Psycho"; Bale Cast

by Joal Ryan
Sep 11, 2003, 5:00 PM PT



Well, Batman always did have a dark side...

Christian Bale, who carved up costars with a chainsaw in American Psycho, will don the Dark Knight's cape and cowl for the latest big-screen Batman, Warner Bros. announced Thursday.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Shooting on the as-yet-untitled flick is scheduled to start in February. Memento's Christopher Nolan will direct.

Bale, 29, becomes the seventh overall actor to star in a Caped Crusader film, dating back to the 1940s serials, and the fourth member of Warners' Batmen fraternity.

In winning the part, Bale denied the Batdreams of Jake Gyllenhaal, Billy Crudup, Joshua Jackson, Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) and Eion Bailey (Band of Brothers), all of whom screentested for the studio last week.

Gyllenhaal previously was thisclose to stepping into Spider-man's jammies when Tobey Maguire briefly ran afoul of producers prior to production on the now-shooting Spider-man 2.

But the Bubble Boy's bubble was burst when Maguire made up with the powers-that-be, and again when Bale impressed them.

"What I see in Christian is the ultimate embodiment of Bruce Wayne," Nolan said in a statement. "He has exactly the balance of darkness and light that we are looking for."

Bale is the first British-born Batman, and the first one to call Ms. Gloria Steinem "stepmom." (Dad David is married to the pioneering feminist.)

He follows in the bootsteps of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney, who each headlined the big-budget Warners flicks. Keaton starred in Batman and Batman Returns for Tim Burton. Kilmer inherited the codpiece in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever; Clooney got lost inside the costume in Batman and Robin, also directed by Schumacher.

Nolan's Batman is slated for a 2005 release. By the time it opens, eight years will have passed since Batman and Robin un-entertained audiences with lame one-liners in 1997, the longest gap between adventures since the studio's franchise began frequenting multiplexes in 1989.

Warners has struggled for years to get a new Superman, Batman or Superman-and-Batman movie off the ground. While its Superman flick remains Kryptonite-bitten, Nolan's has gone relatively smoothly. He was signed to direct in January.

It's believed Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer (Blade) are looking to tell the tale of a slightly less manly--well, younger--Batman.

No word on other cast members, including who'll play super baddie to Bale's super good guy. Officially, there's no word on which super baddie will drafted from the comic books for the movie. On the Internet, the buzz is that the Scarecrow, another smart guy gone screwy who kinda looks like a demonic version of the straw-stuffed softie from The Wizard of Oz, will get the call.

While the Scarecrow isn't a high-profile villain the likes of the Joker, he was featured on the 1990s' Batman cartoon series. And, plus, the Joker has already been used up by the Warners franchise. So have the Penguin, Two-Face, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Catwoman, soon to be immortalized in her own Halle Berry flick.

Prior to becoming an American Psycho, Bale represented for the XY-chromosomal set in Little Women and fought dragons in Reign of Fire. He found fame at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's World War II epic, Empire of the Sun.

batman IS gay

sosgemini said:

Yummmy.

They should just paint his costume on.

no mention of Velvet Goldmine in his filmography? for shame!

AaronMaximus said:

interesting omission... bastards!!!

zero fat can lead to health problems...

although I agree YUMMY!! I still don't see it.

So he was that kid in Empire of the Sun. I like that movie.

prrtybby said:

Really? I can totally see him as Batman. And Bruce Wayne.

I really like Christian Bale, but he is too young to play Batman.

Batman should be in his mid to late 30's.

Yeah it's my opinion.

sosgemini said:

Oh my, imagine that in skintight rubber :drewl:

Nothinbutjoy said:

Not if it's going to be a movie about how Batman got started being Batman, which appears is the case.

WHO!??!

ufoclub said:

OH COME ON!! MICHAEL KEATON should AGAIN be Batman!!! :NOD:

sosgemini said:

he is sooo fine...

Been a fan since Empire of The Sun (an underrated Epic in my book)

Was phucking great as my namesake in American Psycho,

was cool in Equilibrium.

Now all my fantasies come true as I see him don a rubber suit and a glorified gimp mask...

There IS a God...

*it's in His lisp edit*
[This message was edited Fri Sep 12 12:23:09 PDT 2003 by bananacologne]

bananacologne said:

I can't wait to see him in that suit...I will have masterbation material for years from this movie

:mrgeen:

aMEN!

BTW he DIDN'T KILL ANYBODY in American Psycho...

he's hot... and cool. but i just don't see him as either the Batman or Bruce Wayne type.

origmnd said:

DO eXplain...cuz I read the book in '91, & I have the film, and I could have SWORN Patrick Bateman killed:
'a LOT of people!'
[This message was edited Sat Sep 13 15:55:06 PDT 2003 by bananacologne]

bananacologne said:

...it was ALL in his mind. He was merely
INTERNALLY reacting to everyday things
like we all do--wanting to hatchet pests
& phoneys. But he was so mental he
didn't realize this until he started seeing that the things didn't actually happen.