Christian Bale Is Reluctantly Committed To Batman 3, With Or Without Nolan

Our friends at Total Film were able to corner Christian Bale about the prospects of a Dark Knight sequel, and the Batman star insists that "it's got to be the right story". When I talked with Bale last July if he would return for another one, he answered that he couldn't "imagine doing this without Chris [Nolan]," and that he doesn't "even want to consider" doing another film without Nolan.

It appears that Bale's Lawyers have since explained that he has a contract because the Dark Knight star now admits to Total Film that "The fact is, I have to! I've signed up! Chris doesn't. So I'm in a bit of a fix if he says he doesn't want to!" I think everyone expects for Nolan to do another Batman sequel after he finishes work on Inception, but Chris has still not committed to a third film, and I'm surprised at just how patiently Warner Bros is being with their big comic book franchise.

(I want to clarify my last statement. I think that Chris Nolan is required to make a third Batman film. I have a lot of respect for Warner Bros giving him "his time." Other studios would be pushy, wanting to go right into production on another one. As they say in the business world, you have to strike while the iron is hot. And the fact that WB is patiently waiting on Nolan show that they "get it".)