Christian Bale Bailing on ‘Batman’

Christian Bale says The Dark Knight Rises — expected to smash the box office when it opens in theaters next summer — will be the last film in which he plays “The Caped-Crusader” on the silver screen.

The Welsh-born Bale won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar this year for his performance in The Fighter, but is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the comic-book hero in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are back for more Batman action in the new epic, which also features a host of newbies, including Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and Matthew Modine. While Bale described playing Gotham City billionaire Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter-ego as “enjoyable,” the actor said the Batman team knows when to say goodbye to a good thing.

“I wrapped a few days ago, so that will be the last time I’m taking that cowl off,” Bale told The Philippine Daily Inquirer this week. “I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done. Everything’s finished. It’s me and [director] Chris [Nolan] — that will be the end of that Batman era.”

And what an era it’s been. The Dark Knight broke box office records during its $ 158 million opening weekend back in July 2008. The film also earned late star Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Joker.

The Dark Knight Rises opens July 12, 2012.