Date: 4th September 2003

Britons considered to play Caped Crusader


British actors Christian Bale and Hugh Dancy are in the running for the role of Batman in Hollywood's latest movie about the Caped Crusader.

Film bosses are looking to this side of the Atlantic for the new star of Batman 5, according to industry bible Hollywood Reporter.

Bale, star of American Psycho and Captain Corelli's Mandolin, is reportedly screen testing for the part.

And Dancy - best known for starring in the TV adaptations of period dramas Daniel Deronda and Madame Bovary - is also a popular choice with studio chiefs.

He is currently shooting Walt Disney's big screen version of King Arthur and trying to rearrange his schedule to fit in an audition, it was claimed.

George Clooney was the last actor to play the caped crime fighter in the 1997 movie Batman And Robin.

Val Kilmer starred in Batman Forever in 1995, and Michael Keaton was first to take on the role in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).

Dancy, 28, is little known in the US but is about to score his breakthrough playing Galahad in King Arthur, opposite Clive Owen and Keira Knightley.

Source: Press Release