Christian Bale has said that people laughed at the idea of doing a “serious” interpretation of Batman ahead of director Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.

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The actor first played Bruce Wayne aka Batman in 2005’s Batman Begins, which was followed by two sequels in The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

For the first time since, Bale has returned to the superhero genre in Marvel’s Thor: Love And Thunder as villain Gorr the God Butcher, alongside Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson.

Speaking to The Washington Post about his history with the genre, Bale noted how some people mocked the idea of doing a “serious” Batman before the release of Batman Begins.

“I would [tell people] we’re going to sort of do Batman, but take him seriously,” Bale said. “I had tons of people laugh at me and just say, ‘Well that’s just not going to work at all.’

“So, it’s wonderful to be a part of a trilogy that proved those people wrong. I’m not certain if it kick-started [the MCU] but it certainly helped along the way.”

The actor is also open to appearances in future superhero outings, adding: “I don’t have any goodbye and thank you unless other people say to me ‘Goodbye and thank you, please never revisit this again,’ then I’ll take their word for it.

“But otherwise a good story is a good story. A good film is a good film. And a good director is a good director. And I’m open to any of those ideas.”

Bale will next star in David O. Russell’s upcoming film Amsterdam, which is described as a “romantic crime epic”. The film also stars John David Washington, Margot Robbie, Michael Shannon, Robert De Niro and Taylor Swift.

Amsterdam is set to be released in cinemas on November 4, 2022.