‘Batman vs. Superman’ Rumor: Could $60 Million Bring Back Christian Bale’s Dark Knight?

The past few weeks have been awash in Batman casting rumors with everyone from Josh Brolin to Ryan Gosling apparently being on Warner Bros.' secret short list. However, new rumors suggest that the studio may cut its losses and stick with what works. The latest chatter, once again, claims that Christian Bale is being asked to reprise the role for the announced 'Batman vs. Superman' movie, and he's getting, uh, a substantial paycheck waved in front of him.

According to The Sun, the Batman of Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight' universe is being offered roughly $60 million to return for a showdown with Henry Cavill's Superman. We don't know about you, but there are a lot of things we'd do for $60 million. Surely Mr. Bale could find a reason to put the cape back on.

However, Bale has publicly stated that he's ready to see what another actor will bring to the character, and the Oscar-winning actor has quite a busy schedule. Plus, director Christopher Nolan has made it clear that he would not have his 'Dark Knight' trilogy intermixed with DC's grander plans.

Of course, $60 million can change many minds and rewrite a great many plot points. Not to mention the fact that people all over the world would go bananas if it was Bale's Batman who returned to take down the new Superman. That's some 'Avengers' money right there.

But there's the grain of salt. This rumor comes from The Sun, a British tabloid with a nasty track record of publishing things that are, well, completely made up and false. There's always a chance that this is true -- we have no doubt in our minds that WB has considered getting Bale back, but the $60 million payday is something that has our eyebrows raised questioningly.

We'll surely learn more about the identity of the new Batman in the coming months.