Everything Christian Bale has said about The Dark Knight return in Batman role

When it comes to iconic characters, everyone has a face in their head that they attach to them.

For James Bond I see Daniel Craig, for Superman I see Christopher Reeves, and for Batman, like many, I see Christian Bale.

The actor starred in three films, all directed by Christopher Nolan, and despite the fantastic film starring Robert Pattinson, Bale is still Bruce Wayne for many.

The most iconic of the films, The Dark Knight, was announced today to be rereleased in IMAX later this year.

As always however, interest is always high in seeing whether Bale will return to the role – and he has opened up about it.

What has Christian Bale said about returning as Batman?

Where many stay tight lipped about what it would take to bring them back to certain roles, Christian Bale has been very open about what would get him back.

The actor starred in just the three films and has not been back yet, despite Warner Brothers’ almost certainly having asked and offered a boatload of money.

Instead, the actor said of a possible return in an interview with Screenrant in 2022: "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."

He went on to say: "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."

That then asks a very obvious next question.

Christian Bale has outlined his one condition to return as Batman in The Dark Knight 4 (Warner Bros.)

What has Christopher Nolan said about returning for a fourth Batman film?

Nolan directed the films, co-writing the screenplays with his brother Jonathan Nolan.

Despite going on to create the highly successful Fallout show, Jonathan seems open to the idea of another Dark Knight, calling it a ‘dream’, which might indicate that there might be a world in which we get another.

He said: "That period was about 10 years of my life when I got the call to go work on Batman Begins to putting out The Dark Knight Rises - it was epic.

"If I had the chance to go and work on that again, then absolutely."

It seems Nolan isn't too keen on the thought of returning to Batman (Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images)

Nolan, however, doesn’t share his brother’s optimism.

The director when asked if he’d work on another, and gave a blunt answer by simply saying 'no'.

Whilst it seems that is that, weirder things can happen and opinions can always change with time.

For now though, fans will simply be looking forward to the director’s upcoming film The Odyssey, which has one of the most stacked Hollywood cast lists in years.