Christian Bale Reveals Why There Wasn't A 4th Dark Knight

Holy refreshing sense of humility, Batman! It sounds like Christian Bale really did know when to say goodbye to his role as the Dark Knight.

Bale has been hot on the publicity trail of late in support of his new race car drama Ford v Ferrari, in which he plays a racer opposite Matt Damon's mild-mannered car designer. Recently, the Ford v Ferrari press campaign found the former Batman actor sitting down with the folks at The Toronto Sun, who used part of their time with him to ask a question that's long been on the minds of fans devoted to Bale's iconic work in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

The question, of course, was this: "Why didn't Bale sign on for a Dark Knight 4?"

Bale's answer to the question is as simple as it is surprisingly humble. The actor claimed he ultimately decided a fourth turn as the Caped Crusader would have been, quote, "overindulgent."

That's right — in a time where stars and studios seem to keep lining up blockbuster sequels to milk every single penny out of a franchise, Bale, long regarded as a true "actor's actor," apparently told Warner Bros. "thanks but no thanks" when the studio approached him about reprising his role as Bruce Wayne for another Dark Knight venture. And if Bale is to be believed, he did so largely because he didn't want to overstay his welcome in the role.

It's worth nothing that Bale's decision was also greatly influenced by the fact that Nolan was indeed moving on from the Dark Knight franchise. As Bale continued to wax poetic about why he didn't return for a fourth Dark Knight flick, he admitted as much — noting that, outside of his own wishes to leave Batman behind, his decision to walk away from what would've no doubt been a mammoth payday for Dark Knight 4 was equally out of respect for Christopher Nolan himself. Keep watching the video to see how Christian Bale reveals why there wasn't a 4th Dark Knight!

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