Sir Michael Caine to play 'Batman' in sequel?

Caine, Nolan and Bale give their thoughts on on where 'Batman Begins' could go from here.

Jun 13 2005

Sir Michael Caine wants to play the caped crusader if a sequel to 'Batman Begins' gets off the ground.

Speaking at the film's press conference, which took place at London's Dorchester Hotel this morning, Caine said he would jump at the chance to play Alfred the butler again, although next time around the Oscar-winner wants to dress up as the man-bat himself.

Addressing director Christopher Nolan, Caine said: 'A guy told me yesterday that in one of the comics, Bruce Wayne dresses Alfred as Batman to act as a decoy. And I think Alfred dressed as Batman would be one of the funniest things ever, so will you bear that in mind Christopher?'

Nolan nodded his head to say he would consider the idea, although remained non-commital regarding the rather strange concept.

Speaking of a follow-up to 'Batman Begins' however, the director did say that he thinks the sky is the limit for the franchise.

'As far as where sequels might go from here, the tone of the film is very, very different to previous films so it doesn't stand as either a prequel or a sequel to any of the films that have come before. It's a separate thing.

'What that means to me is that as far as what might be addressed in future films if they were to be made, is that just as the Batmobile, the Batcave and Batman himself have been re-interpreted in a fresh way, that applies to The Joker, the other villains and any other things really. The film has a different tone to the previous films so those elements can be re-interpreted.'

It also seems that if a sequel does go into production (and having seen the film we hope that happens sooner rather than later) Christian Bale will definitely be onboard.

'I'm signed up for the next one,' the 'Amercian Psycho' actor revealed, 'I'd like to reprise the character very much and I think it's kind of limitless with this superhero, unlike others, because he is so contradictory and complex, he has so many demons and issues.'

He added that if a sequel does get made, he wants the caped crusader to remain the focus of the film: 'I don't think it would make any sense to return to what we've seen in the past, where Batman is suddenly side-lined and the villains are the interesting ones again. We've established that Batman is just as interesting, and in my mind, a more interesting character than the majority of the villains, so I would hope that would continue.'

To read David Fear's interview with Christian Bale, click here, and keep your eyes on www.timeout.com/film for the full transcript of the press conference coming soon.

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