Breaking: Exclusive insider dish on DC's secret plan for Christian Bale's Batman return in The Flash revealed!

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Flash. For a significant period of time, many TikTok and Twitter users believed that Christian Bale would be reprising his role as Batman in The Flash. This suggestion, initially presented as a confirmation by Kevin Smith, stirred up both disappointment at the missed opportunity and criticism towards The Flash, as only the juiciest "leaks" can provoke. However, it turns out that this was never the case.

The quote in question, attributed to Kevin Smith, gained traction due to several tweets and a carefully edited TikTok clip from his Fatman Beyond review of The Flash. According to the rumor, Smith supposedly mentioned that "[Warner Bros. Pictures] were asking Christian Bale [to return as Batman for The Flash] for months and months, hoping that he’d break down, and he was like ‘no.’ So, they were like ‘let’s pivot, let’s do another Batman,’ and they just grabbed George Clooney." However, Smith has now clarified the context behind his statement:

Smith's remarks regarding Christian Bale's reprisal of the role of Batman were never concrete insider allegations, despite his close ties with DC film-makers. However, his actual statement sheds light on his intentions:

"It seems like they only finished shooting that recently, maybe two weeks ago. It felt like they were considering anyone for the role, probably persistently reaching out to Christian Bale, hoping he would change his mind. But he declined, so they decided to change course and cast George Clooney as Batman."

Was George Clooney's The Flash Cameo Really Last Minute?

While it would have been a highly anticipated choice to cast Christian Bale as Batman in The Flash's mind-bending finale, catering to the current DC movie fanbase, this was never a likely scenario. Christian Bale himself has stated that he would only reprise his role as Batman if Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight trilogy, extended the invitation. Additionally, it is reasonable to assume that Warner Bros may have inadvertently pushed for a Dark Knight 4 movie due to the overwhelming anticipation from fans. However, putting all personal desires aside, this is simply not the appropriate time to have that particular discussion, especially with the upcoming release of Andy Muschietti's Batman: The Brave & The Bold, which is a part of the DCU reboot.

As pointed out by Kevin Smith, THR revealed that George Clooney's cameo appearance was filmed six months ago, replacing the original ending of The Flash. In the original ending, Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne would have filled Clooney's role, with Sasha Calle's Supergirl also making a return appearance.

Clooney's reprisal of the role of Bruce Wayne didn't take years to happen. Surprisingly, it came together in just a matter of weeks through a series of phone calls, two movie screenings, and a brief half-day of shooting in January.

While it would have been a treat for fans to see Bale make an appearance, Clooney was already confirmed as the replacement back in January 2023. Before him, Keaton had been slated to play Batman in The Flash's abandoned ending. If there were any discussions or inquiries made to Nolan regarding Bale's return, the truth behind those conversations remains undisclosed.

Source: Kevin Smith/Twitter