From Bruce Wayne to John Connor to Melvin Purvis – now Robin Hood?! An interesting rumor has popped up this weekend surrounding Christian Bale’s possible involvement in Ridley Scott’s Nottingham. On Wednesday we announced that Sienna Miller had officially joined the cast as the lovely Maid Marian, but the biggest question still was who would play Robin Hood. Russell Crowe will play the Sheriff of Nottingham, but he needs his counterpart, and one that might do a better job than Kevin Costner or Cary Elwes. Might Christian Bale be the perfect fit? The last time we saw Bale and Crowe together, as enemies yet again, was in 3:10 to Yuma. And the more I think back on that movie, the more I realize that it was the chemistry between those two that made it so great. Would this combination work again in Nottingham?

The rumor comes from the UK’s Daily Mail, where they straight out report that Bale is in talks for the role but hasn’t officially signed on. “Nothing is signed for Bale, but director Ridley Scott is exceedingly keen to cast him. Costume fittings begin next week, so he’ll be either in or out by then.” They also reveal that Vanessa Redgrave, William Hurt, and Atonement’s Saoirse Ronan are all cast in the film as well. This sounds like a legitimate claim, but then again, we’ll wait until he’s officially signed before we start flipping out over his connection to nearly too many iconic characters (Wayne, Connor, Purvis, Hood).

With casting finally coming together and production set to begin on Nottingham, I’m finally getting excited again. I remember first writing about it last year, saying “I’m totally sold on this,” but that “it just needs a solid script from a good writer.” That requirement still hasn’t changed and I last heard the script wasn’t that amazing. Or at least isn’t Gladiator quality, but there have likely been numerous polishes since then (or so I hope). My initial reaction to this rumor: Christian Bale is not the perfect choice. I loved the their chemistry in 3:10 to Yuma, but he just does not seem like a Robin Hood to me. He’s Bruce Wayne or John Connor, not a bow-and-arrow wielding savior from Sherwood Forest! How many people are looking forward to Nottingham anyway? We’ve talked about it a couple of times previously, but no one really seems to care about it anymore. Am I the only one looking forward to seeing Ridley Scott’s revisionist Robin Hood tale?

Update! Apparently the guys over at Ain’t It Cool News have debunked this rumor. While they don’t credit any sources for this, they claim: “There is absolutely no truth to the Daily Mail’s rumor. Christian Bale is not playing Robin Hood.” There you have it. We’ll let you know once we find out who will make up the actual cast Nottingham once it’s official.

Source: First Showing