Friday
20Jun2008
Christian Bale to Play Ridley Scott's Robin Hood in 'Nottingham'?
Friday, June 20, 2008 at 11:48AM 
Recently, we discussed that
Sienna Miller would play Maid Marian in
Ridley Scott's upcoming Robin Hood flick,
Nottingham, and
we admitted we had no idea who was in the
running to play Robin Hood.
The Daily Mail may have our answer:
"Christian
Bale, soon to be seen as the caped crusader in The Dark Knight,
is in talks about donning the jolly Lincoln Green outfit of Robin Hood, where he
will be part of a menage a trois between
Russell Crowe's Sheriff of Nottingham and
Sienna Miller's Maid Marian."
The menage a trois, I take it, is just an expression in this case.
We do have a few other casting notices from the film:
Vanessa Redgrave and
William Hurt are "in discussions" as well, and
Saoirse Ronan, who was so good in Atonement, is said to be in the cast.
Bale has not been signed, but, "costume fittings begin next week, so he'll be
either in or out by then."
What's gotten into Christian Bale? It seems like he just
wants to do the big budget stuff now, which is great, if it's good big budget
stuff. Batman certainly fits that description, and I'm hoping
Terminator will. This would be another one in that vein, with Russell Crowe,
Ridley Scott, and an intriguing retelling of the story from the perspective of
the Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Crowe. Crowe and Bale were very good
together in last year's 3:10 to Yuma.
Personally, I can't think of anyone better for the role,
but after all, it's Christian Bale. Not many choices for any role better than
that guy.
Reader Comments (4)
I got excited about this movie when you mentioned it the other day, adding Bale to the mix will only make this movie not come out soon enough.
They say the rumor is false. What a shame. I don't even think I'll watch the movie now. I'm not one to buy a ticket to a movie just to see an actor, but in the case of any reteaming of Bale/Crowe, I'd likely make an exception.
There is also such a thing as over exposure and Bale is starting to suffer from it. Basically, he's been made to look good by working with good directors such as Christopher Nolan. His characters don't change much between films. The only role that impressed me was The Machinist. Probably, he was asking too much money of Ridley.
I have been a huge fan of Bale ever since "Newsies". And I agree, I'm a little shocked with the up coming films he is trying to do. I also agree that his role in The Machinist was very impressive, along with Prestige and of course Batman. My hope is that he continues to take up roles that are interesting and thoughtful... telling something of our culture and morality. This might keep his original fan base and keep him grounded as a person and an actor.