It's no secret that comic book adaptations are a hot trend. With three shared universes producing blockbuster movies and TV projects, just about every major superhero is available for small or silver screen adventures. And then there's Batman, who is one of the most universally beloved superheroes ever. As such, Gotham's defender has been inhabited by a ton of actors over the years. While Christian Bale had a great run in Christopher Nolan's Dark Night Trilogy, and Ben Affleck is currently playing the DCEU's Bats for an unspecified amount of time. But it turns out that Bale hasn't seen Batfleck's first few adventures, mostly because he just isn't interested in superhero movies. He recently explained this, saying:
I have not [seen Ben Affleck's Batman]. Yes I'm interested [in seeing it], my son seemed like he was really interested, but then I realized he just wanted to see the trailer and that was it---I tend to go see films that [my kids] want to see. I have to confess I'm not a huge superhero film fan. People seem surprised at that, I don't know why. I've not seen any of the Avengers films or any of those films at all. I hear they're very good, but I'm quite happy just hearing they're very good.
Although Christian Bale will always be known for playing a superhero to near perfection, his comments to Collider make it clear he's not super invested in the genre itself. He hasn't seen the Avengers movies or the other comic book adventures that have been released for the past decade, including Ben Affleck's role as Batman in both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
Funny enough, Christian Bale isn't the only former Batman to have skipped out on the DCEU's attempts at adapting the character. George Clooney, who played the character in arguably the weakest Batman movie ever, Batman and Robin, hasn't seen it either. Although his movie was rough and full of rubble nipples, Clooney feels that the role died with him, and therefore isn't interested in future iterations.
While George Clooney and Christian Bale are entitled to their own opinions about the various Batman franchises, they both are missing out on what Ben Affleck brings to the role. Batfleck didn't have an origin story, instead picking up on a Bruce Wayne who is older and more physically and emotionally scarred than his predecessors. When we meet Batman in Dawn of Justice he seems to have lost his faith in people, willing to kill criminals who get in his way. He redeemed himself a bit in Justice League, and it should be interesting to see the strange places the character goes in the DCEU-- granted Ben Affleck sticks around.
We'll just have to wait and see where Batman goes after the events of Justice League; you can catch Christian Bale in the Dark Knight Trilogy anytime, as it's available for home purchase. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies this New Year.
