Christian Bale reportedly refused to cameo as Batman in The Flash.
Warning: Spoilers for The Flash ahead!
"Warner Bros. asked Christian Bale for months and months hoping he would break down and he was like 'no,'" Kevin Smith says in a TikTok clip. "So [Warner Bros.] was like, 'let's pivot, let's get another Batman,' and they just grabbed George Clooney."
The movie predominantly features Michael Keaton's Batman (which we still think is so very awesome), Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne, and includes a cameo from another Batman, George Clooney, at the very end. After Barry Allen single-handedly destroys the time-space continuum (albeit with good intentions), he seemingly puts everything back together... or so we think.
At the very end of the film, Bruce Wayne comes to visit Barry. But instead of Affleck, Clooney appears, and Barry is baffled. According to Comic Book Movie, the plan was for Bale to walk out of the car at the end – not Clooney.
It's unclear why Bale, who played the caped crusader in three films, refused to reprise the role – but we don't blame him. "If Chris [Nolan] came to me and said, 'I've got a new story,' I'd be interested. But other than that, I don't think so," the actor previously told Inverse. His most recent superhero venture was playing Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love & Thunder.
The Flash is in theaters now. If you're up to speed, check out our spoilery deep dives on:
- What happened to the Justice League in The Flash?
- Our deep dive on Iris West
- How different is The Flash to Flashpoint?
- How Superman Lives explains that wild cameo
- When does The Flash take place on the DCU timeline?
- Explaining the evil versions of The Flash
- What to watch before The Flash
- Everything you need to know about Supergirl
- The Flash Easter eggs and cameos
- The Flash post-credits scene, explained
- Every character that appears in The Flash multiverse sequence
- The Flash ending explained
- A fond farewell to the DCEU
