While it seemed that The Dark Knight Rises marked the end of Christian Bale as Batman, many having been holding onto the slim hope that he’d have a change of heart and return for Justice League.
However Bale confirmed to EW that he is not returning to play Batman. When asked about his possible involvement in Justice League, the actor revealed that he hasn’t been approached to even consider joining Justice League.
He says, “We were incredibly fortunate to get to make three [Batman films]. That’s enough. Let’s not get greedy. Chris (Nolan) always said he wanted to make it one film at a time. And we ended up sitting there looking at each other, saying ‘We’re about to make the third.’ We never really knew if we were going to get to be there, but if that was how it was going to be, this was where it should end as well. I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it. It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.”
Back in March, there was a speculative rumour that Christopher Nolan was developing Justice League with Christian Bale returning as Batman. That story turned out to be false, with Warner Bros. executive Jeffrey Robinov revealing in April that the director’s Batman trilogy stands on its own.
At the moment it seems Man of Steel director Zack Snyder is going to helm Justice League, but that has not been confirmed.