Christian Bale Once Shared He Was Interested in Doing a Batman That Was R-Rated
Christian Bale stepped into the shoes of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Although Batman has mostly been rated PG-13, Bale was interested in experimenting with the film’s usual rating.
Christian Bale became obsessed with playing Batman
Bale was looking to pick up the mantle of Batman even before he was considered for the part. His fascination with the character started when he was given a few comic books and graphic novels about the superhero. From there, Bale realized there was much more to Batman than he initially thought.
““ realized that he was a really great character, a dark severe character unlike anything that I had realized he can be before. So that’s when I first thought to myself I really want to play this character,” Bale once said according to Black Film.
When Nolan came on board, this just made Bale even more excited to put on the Bat-suit. So much so that he didn’t see himself letting go of the role even if he wasn’t cast in it.
“By the time I actually came to be cast I kind of gotten so obsessed about it that I kind of viewed it as it being mine already. It would’ve been more like…if they had told me like ‘No its not yours’. I would’ve been like ‘No way that’s not working out, that’s not going to happen,’” he recalled.
Christian Bale was interested in doing a Rated-R Batman
Bale felt there were very few limitations that he and Nolan could’ve taken his Batman. He even briefly entertained the idea of a Batman that went beyond a PG-13 rating. Even to this day, with the exception of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, most movies featuring Batman have stayed within that rating. But Bale thought a step further could be taken with the character.
“I think that…I mean not talking completely sexually, but I do think there is a lot of room for like a R rated Batman,” Bale said.
But he acknowledged the difficulties of making that happen due to Batman’s younger fans. Still, Bale floated the possibility of there being two different versions of the same Batman with different ratings.
“I think it would be very interesting myself to do maybe one version, which can be both PG and R, two different cuts of it. The graphic novel certainly dove into his private life because it’s fascinating; of course he’s got to do something, he has to do something at some point. I think it could be an interesting storyline to take somewhere,” he added.
Christian Bale was laughed at when he shared he was taking a serious approach to Batman
When Bale was first becoming Batman, he and Christopher Nolan were succeeding Joel Schumacher’s take on the character. Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman and Robin took a much more lighthearted approach with the caped crusader. But years later, Bale and Nolan would seek to take Batman in the opposite direction and make him more grounded. To some, this was a humorous proposal.
“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,’” Bale once told Washington Post. “So, it’s wonderful to be a part of a trilogy that proved those people wrong.”
