While Christian Bale ultimately got the role of a lifetime, most fans on social media think that Cillian Murphy’s Batman voice is far superior than Bale’s. “You’re telling me we almost got a good voice for The Nolan Batman films,” pondered Twitter user @TurboStunkk. As celebrated as Bale’s performance as Batman is, one common complaint he’s received is his gargle-heavy, scrambled voice as The Dark Knight. It’s a distinctive creative choice, one that makes Batman’s aura genuinely bone-chilling and terrifying. However, many fans have found issues with Bale’s voice, finding it unintelligible and almost comical at times.
If you don’t like Bale’s Batman voice, don’t blame franchise director Christopher Nolan, as he explains that it was the British actor’s decision to make The Dark Knight sound like that. While appearing in a behind-the-scenes extra released with “The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition” (via Polygon), Nolan opened up about how Bale’s distinctive Batman voice played a part in getting him the role. “So it’s about feeling and a voice, and I think Christian’s voice was a big part of the impression he made in the test,” the director explained. “He decided that Batman needed to have a different voice than Bruce Wayne; he needed to put on a voice that supported the visual appearance of the character.” Bale’s voice certainly fits the visual appearance of the gritty iteration of Batman, but some are still far more impressed with Murphy’s Dark Knight voice.
“His batman feels very [Kevin] Conroy esque to me, which is really great and the ideal for me but also not what Nolan would want,” said user @LegoKingo. While Murphy’s Batman voice has some fans pleased, the Irish actor believes it’s best that the role went to Bale.
