We never knew how close we were to getting Batman in a Star Wars movie. While ultimately it didn’t happen, Christian Bale has now confirmed that he was pretty close to taking on a role in Solo: A Star Wars Story when Lucasfilm was looking to recruit a big name to fill the role of Han Solo’s quasi-mentor in the film.
Eventually, the role went to Woody Harrelson, but Bale confirmed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he is a fan of the franchise and was close to taking on the role:
“Yes, [it was] very tempting. I not only love the films going back to my childhood but also have a very long relationship with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall because they did Empire of the Sun many years back. There was discussion, [and] I hope there will be future discussions”.
Bale doesn’t elaborate on why it didn’t work out, leaving us to speculate wildly. We do know there weren’t any scheduling issues as the actor didn’t shoot anything in the summer, and didn’t begin work on Adam McKay‘s Dick Cheney biopic until late September.
But despite the disappointment of not getting Bale, it does sound like he’s interested in a role in the franchise down the line, as his love of Star Wars is something that runs in the family:
“Yeah Star Wars really interests me. My daughter, her first love was Darth Vader. She absolutely adored Darth Maul. [She] stood near him at Disneyland and he growled and he’s got those teeth and he stayed in character, really wonderful performance, and she was teeny and I thought, ‘This is gonna scare the crap out of her, this is such a bad idea.’ And then she stopped and she said, ‘Daddy, I’m in love'”.
So while there will be no sign of Bale in the next Star Wars film, with a new instalment in the franchise arriving seemingly every year, there’s plenty of opportunity for the actor to get a role in one of the many upcoming additions to the franchise.
Solo: A Star Wars Story arrives in cinemas Friday, May 25.
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