Christian Bale was very “tempted” to take a role in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off movie.
The actor is currently promoting western drama Hostiles and recently wrapped on shooting Backseat, Adam McKay’s film about former Vice President Dick Cheney.
However, Bale has now revealed that he very nearly considered taking a major part in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the stand-alone installment set prior to events of the original 1977 film which follows the adventures of a young Han Solo, as played by Alden Ehrenreich.
“Yes, (it was) very tempting,” he said during an interview on Josh Horowitz podcast Happy Sad Confused. “I not only love the films going back to my childhood but also have a very long relationship with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall because they did Empire of the Sun many years back. There was discussion, (and) I hope there will be future discussions.”
It is believed Bale contemplated taking on the role of Solo’s mentor Beckett, with the producers eventually casting Woody Harrelson as the character.
During his chat, the Oscar winner explained that the original Star Wars movies hold a place in his heart, and even his 12-year-old daughter Emmeline is a fan of the franchise.
“Star Wars I’m a huge fan. Yeah, Star Wars really interests me. I’ve still got the Millennium Falcon, I’ve got the AT-AT. My daughter, her first love was Darth Vader. She absolutely adored Darth Maul,” the 43-year-old shared.
While it appears that Bale is keen to take on a sci-fi movie, it seems unlikely he will appear in another superhero film in the near future. Even though he starred as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, he admitted that he hasn’t watched Ben Affleck’s take on the character just yet, and isn’t particularly intrigued by the genre in general.
“I have not (seen Ben Affleck’s Batman). Yes, I’m interested (in watching it), my son seemed like he was really interested, but then I realized he just wanted to see the trailer and that was it – I tend to go see films that (my children) want to see. I have to confess I’m not a huge superhero film fan. People seem surprised at that, I don’t know why,” he added.
