Christian Bale’s New Movie Proves How Good His 2008 Movie’s Recast Really Was 16 Years Later

The first look at Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride has been revealed, and it proves that Gyllenhaal’s recasting in The Dark Knight was a good call. The Bride will be the second film that Gyllenhaal has directed after her 2021 directorial debut The Lost Daughter, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Bride looks to be a lot less grounded and realistic than The Lost Daughter as it reimagines the story of The Bride of Frankenstein for a modern audience.

Set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride will star Jessie Buckley, who was also Oscar-nominated for The Lost Daughter, as a young woman who is murdered and brought back to life by mad scientists. Her creators are surprised to find that she has strong romantic desires and ends up sparking a radical social revolution. So far, so Poor Things. Bale will play a reimagined version of Frankenstein’s monster in The Bride, and the first look is from a camera test in his costume and makeup. Bale and Gyllenhaal’s Dark Knight reunion proves Christopher Nolan’s recasting was the right decision.

Christian Bale & Maggie Gyllenhaal Working Together Again Proves The Dark Knight’s Recast Was The Right Call

The role of Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend and love interest, Rachel Dawes, was initially played by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins. But it didn’t work out too well as it ended up following the tradition of romantic subplots being the least interesting part of Batman movies. The problem wasn’t with the character of Rachel, but rather with the actors’ on-screen dynamic. Bale and Holmes had all the chemistry of a wet paper bag in Batman Begins. For the first sequel, The Dark Knight, Holmes was recast with Gyllenhaal in the role of Rachel.

Bale and Gyllenhaal made for a much more compelling pairing in The Dark Knight. This helped the movie massively, because it made the tragedy of Rachel’s death – and the deep emotional impact it has on Bruce – land beautifully. The fact that Bale has reunited with Gyllenhaal to play Frankenstein’s monster under her direction in The Bride just goes to show how well this duo works together. It proves that The Dark Knight’s recasting was the right decision, because the two actors still have a strong working relationship all these years later.

Bale & Gyllenhaal’s Reunion Makes The Bride More Exciting

Bale and Gyllenhaal’s reunion makes The Bride even more exciting. The last time they worked on a movie together, it ended up being one of the greatest movies ever made. The Bride won’t necessarily be as great as The Dark Knight just because it involves some of the same talent, but it has a better chance of being as great as The Dark Knight than most movies. Bale throws himself wholeheartedly into every role he takes on, and even in his most disappointing movies, like Thor: Love and Thunder, his performance is a standout.

Even before Bale got involved, The Bride was a really promising movie. The Lost Daughter was a critically acclaimed debut feature that proved Gyllenhaal’s talents as a writer and director match her talents as an actor. The film deftly weaved in and out of two timelines, cutting between Olivia Colman’s obsession with a young mother and Buckley’s portrayal of the younger version of Colman’s character being a not-so-great mother to her own kids. The prospect of the filmmaker behind The Lost Daughter tackling the ultimate science fiction story is certainly tantalizing.

The Bride Is Uniting 2 Different Eras Of Batman Movies

Bale and Gyllenhaal aren’t the only Batman movie actors involved in The Bride. The cast – which features such acclaimed A-listers as Penélope Cruz and Annette Bening – includes Peter Sarsgaard, who played Gotham’s crooked district attorney Gil Colson in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. In real life, Sarsgaard has been married to Gyllenhaal since 2009. The couple previously co-starred in the 2020 movie musical Best Summer Ever.

And not only that; Lawrence Sher, the cinematographer behind the stunning visuals of Todd Phillips’ Joker movie, is on board to shoot The Bride. This could end up being the most Batman-adjacent Frankenstein movie ever made. The cast and crew’s previous work promises that their next collaboration will be great. With Gyllenhaal at the helm, Bale in the lead role, and Sher behind the camera, The Bride is guaranteed to be well-directed and beautifully shot with a brilliant lead performance.