The Dark Knight trailer starring Christian Bale goes viral, but it's an AI fake

A new The dark knight returns Christian Bale's Batman trailer has gone viral on all social media platforms. However, the trailer is fake and uses AI-generated footage.

It makes people believe that Bale is returning to reprise his role as the caped crusader and take on a new villain in a story set after Christopher Nolan's trilogy. However, this doesn't happen because everything is fake.

Christian Bale's Batman appears in the AI ​​trailer for The Dark Knight Returns.

The following fake trailer for The Dark Knight Returns has nearly a million views at the time of writing:

The trailer was released on April 28, 2024 on the YouTube channel KH Studio and features old footage from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It also brings back Gary Oldman using previous footage.

Most importantly, it uses AI to recreate Christian Bale's Batman in a scene. According to the trailer, his Bruce Wayne will face off against Black Mask, whose footage was recycled from the DCEU film Birds of Prey, in which Ewan McGregor played the role.

But unfortunately for fans who want it real, KH Studio is known for releasing fake fan-made concept trailers. The Dark Knight Returns trailer is just another example of this, and DC Studios has not greenlit any such Batman sequel.

Christopher Nolan is reportedly working on an Oppenheimer-based remake of The Prisoner, and Bale is set to star in The Bride, due out in 2025.

Instead, two more live-action Batman films are currently in development. The first of these will be Matt Reeves' The Batman 2. In 2026, Robert Pattinson's Batman will return under DC's Elseworlds banner.

The second part, titled “The Brave and the Bold,” is produced by James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC Studios. It's set in Gunn's DCU, is released after his upcoming Superman film, and features a new actor as Batman.