Christian Bale Drops Out Of "The Dark Knight Rises"

[Too Much Fun]

Via Associated Press:

Christian Bale drops out of "The Dark Knight Rises"

In a move that is sure to devastate Batman fans worldwide, Christian Bale has announced that he will no longer be able to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in highly anticipated sequel "The Dark Knight Rises". Representatives for Bale released the following statement:

"After much deliberation, Mr. Bale has decided he must regretfully announce his withdrawal from production of 'The Dark Knight Rises' due to scheduling conflicts. While he was anxious to return to the Batman franchise, he feels it would be in his best interests to pursue other projects at this time".

Sources close to Bale believe that in the wake of his best supporting actor Oscar win for "The Fighter", Bale feels he has "outgrown" the Batman franchise and would rather seek out more "high-profile" and "prestigious" roles. Could the Oscar win have gone to the notoriously unpredictable actor's head? It has also been suggested that Bale is focused on getting a sequel to "The Fighter" off the ground. Mark Wahlberg, who was largely responsible for the film's development, expressed his hope of a sequel getting made shortly after the Oscar ceremony.

Bale's announcement comes just two months before "The Dark Knight Rises" was scheduled to begin shooting for a July 20, 2012 release date. Director Christopher Nolan has confirmed the news with a statement of his own:

"While I am disappointed by Christian's decision, I understand the reasoning behind it and support him 100%. I wish him the best and look forward to working with him again in the future".

Since the news broke, there has been rampant speculation about who might replace Bale as Batman and whether the film's release date and box office projections may be affected by Bale's unavailability. Studio executives have reportedly been considering box office champ Will Smith as a viable replacement to ensure the film's financial success. When questioned about whether or not he had been approached for the coveted Batman role, Smith responded, "Aw hell naw".

Link to press conference

Man...Eff Christian Bale. He and I are done professionally.

 

[Jetfire]

April Fools?

 

[Vendikarr]

April Fools?

I usually wait until the 2nd to believe anything I read today.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Well-played!

 

[Jetfire]

April Fools?

I usually wait until the 2nd to believe anything I read today.

Well ofcourse.

It is still a sick joke.

 

[Thestral]

Christian Bale drops out of "The Dark Knight Rises"

... and sources indicate Nicholas Cage is the leading candidate to replace him as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

ROFLMAO...Yes i pressed the link and fell off the chair when the little clip played because i got caught out.

 

[Showdown]

Ok, you got me. I fell for it. Good one.

 

[Sindatur]

Heh, Shouldn't have gone so far as to say Will Smith is being eyed. A Black Batman would be Controversial enough on it's own. Switching Actors in the middle of a trilogy would be tough enough. But, to switch actors, and go from White to Black in the Middle of a Trilogy, that's just too risky, for the Bean Counters, IMHO.

Actually, with the Reboot, Will Smith might be a really fun Batman, if done from the beginning

 

[Aragorn]

Of course Will Smith is being eyed. Then he can cast his son as Robin and his daughter as Batgirl!

 

[Samurai8472]

^ The movie will be released in July

-Will Smith will sing the title soundtrack with his son as backup

-The movie makes 160 million over the weekend.

 

[Noname Given]

Val Kilmer to reprise role (And yes, most likely an April Fools jke.)

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'd like to see all living actors who played Bruce/Batman's all in one movie.

Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and hell why not Kevin Conroy too.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I can't stand April Fool's Day.

 

[ClayinCA]

I'd like to see all living actors who played Bruce/Batman's all in one movie.

Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and hell why not Kevin Conroy too.

Is Olan Soule still alive?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ No, he died in '94.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback. This was my first April Fool's Day prank. I thought of it kind of as a writing exercise...just to see how well I could write a convincing fake article (at least until the end, when I make the joke obvious with the Will Smith bit). It was fun. To those who admitted they fell for it, thank you. That was big of you and makes me feel clever. I was hoping I'd get at least a few fanboy hearts racing just with the thread title. I know that's how I would react if someone else made a thread with such a title. This is me at my most...masochistic.

 

[Klaus]

^^A masochist is a person who says "Beat me, beat me!" A sadist is a person who says "No!"

 

[Myasishchev]

You got me, but I forgot it was April 1. I was like, yeah, fuck Batman, Mr. Bale.

 

[Gepard]

I can't stand April Fool's Day.

There's a simple solution: don't believe any new threads posted today. Especially when the "news" is as out-of-left-field as this. Keeps me sane.