Before he suits up as the Caped Crusader for the last time, Christian Bale will don a clerical collar.
The actor just signed on to play an American priest in the new film from director Zhang Yimou‘s, who’s best known for 2004’s martial arts epic Hero and the extravagant 2008 Beijing Olympics. Nanjing Heroes will focus on the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and according to The Hollywood Reporter, only 40 percent of the film’s language will be English, with the rest in Mandarin Chinese.
For those who need a quick refresher in world history, the Nanjing Massacre — AKA the Rape of Nanking — took place during a six-week period in 1937. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese captured the city of Nanjing, the former capital of the Republic of China and proceeded to murder hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers while raping between 20 to 80 thousand women. So yeah, a movie based on these events should make everyone feel cheery-o.
The film — written by Yan and Liu Heng — will place Bale’s character as a heroic figure who helps a great number of Chinese citizens escape death. Yimou seemed very excited to work with Bale, saying he was “impressed with his serious book research for the role” when he spoke with him. Nanjing Heroes begins shooting in January.
Anyway, now that Batman is a priest, I might make the switch to Catholicism.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
