Movies

Christian Bale Is Excited for 'Fantastic' Robert Pattinson to Play Batman (Exclusive)

By Zach Seemayer‍ 10:05 PM PDT, September 9, 2019

After donning the Dark Knight's iconic cape and cowl in a trio of celebrated Batman films, fans are understandably curious how Christian Bale feels about Robert Pattinson taking on the beloved role.

As it turns out, Bale thinks it's a pretty great decision, and he seems to have a lot of confidence in the 33-year-old star's ability to take up the mantle of the Caped Crusader.

ET's Ash Crossan spoke with the Oscar-winner at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, and he opened up about the headling-grabbing casting news.

"All the best to him! You know, I think he's an absolutely fantastic actor," Bale marveled. "Wonderful choice for Batman!"

Bale and Pattinson are both at TIFF this year promoting their respective projects. Pattinson attended alongside his upcoming fantasy-horror art house project The Lighthouse, while Bale came out to support his upcoming historical biopic Ford v Ferrari.

In the hotly anticipated film, Bale plays legendary race car driver Ken Miles, who works with famed car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to build a car for Ford that could take on Ferrari and win the notorious 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race in 1966.

The actor admits that playing one of the greatest race car drivers of all time did reignite his passion for going fast on a track.

"I've been banned from motorcycles by my family," Bale explained. "I still miss that [feeling of] being out on the track."

However, to prepare for his role Bale said he "was learning from the best" when it came to auto racing, and he plans on possibly hitting those contacts up again in the future.

"I'll be keeping in touch with them about, 'Let's get back on the track a little bit,'" Bale shared. "It's hypnotizing."

Ford v Ferrari races into theaters Nov. 15.

As for Pattinson's upcoming role as the Dark Knight, the actor opened up about preparing for the role in a recent interview with Variety earlier this month, where he revealed that, while he was initially unsure about playing the famed character, everything changed when he put on the suit.

"I put it on. I remember saying to [director] Matt [Reeves], 'It does feel quite transformative!' He was like, 'I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit,'" Pattinson recalled. "You do feel very powerful immediately... it’s pretty astonishing."

Check out the video below to hear more.