Gilbert did not stay long in England. He wasn't a professional, and he didn't understand football, so he had no intention of interfering in areas beyond his expertise.
He left all operational matters to Arsenal's management. As long as he kept control of the finances and personnel, there was no need to worry about the club deceiving him.
The news Gilbert created in European football naturally crossed the Atlantic and quickly reached North America.
However, football wasn't something that many people in North America cared much about. The media only reported on it because of who Gilbert was.
There was one group of fans who paid close attention, though — the Seattle SuperSonics supporters. Since Gilbert took over the team, he hadn't brought about much change.
The SuperSonics were still in their same half-dead state. Their record this season was 37 wins and 45 losses — the team's worst performance since the 1980s.
As for the players: despite missing 26 games, Ray Allen still had one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 23 points and 4.8 assists per game, and earning his first All-Star appearance since joining the Sonics.
Failing to reach the playoffs for two consecutive years left SuperSonics fans dissatisfied with the front office's lack of action. But the team wasn't doing nothing — they planned to strengthen their roster during the offseason and make another push for the playoffs.
For that, the management team submitted a report to Gilbert. He didn't interfere, simply telling them to proceed as they saw fit.
However, Gilbert wasn't very satisfied with KeyArena. Even after renovations, he felt it still didn't meet modern standards.
He discussed the matter with the team's management, suggesting they contact the Seattle city government to secure a plot of land to build a new arena.
As for the team's future, Gilbert wasn't in a hurry. There would be plenty of promising rookies in the coming years.
He didn't plan to call in any favors from David Stern just yet. When the time came — around 2007 or 2008 — he would step up and aim to form a lineup featuring Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose.
Of course, Derrick Rose would require a first overall pick. That's when David Stern's help would come into play.
Everyone in the NBA knew that while Stern claimed the draft was perfectly fair, there was plenty of room for behind-the-scenes manipulation. History had already proven that with too many "coincidences."
Sure enough, when the Sonics' management returned and began talks with the Seattle city government and quietly leaked the news — it immediately reassured the fanbase.
It seemed that the new owner hadn't put all his focus on football after all; he was still paying attention to his basketball team's future.
For movie fans, the reaction was more complicated. Some were also sports fans and didn't know whether they wanted Gilbert to prioritize the football club or the basketball team first.
Others simply wanted him to stop spreading himself so thin and get started on his next film — which they saw as the real business at hand.
And of course, by the end of June, Gilbert officially ended his vacation and returned to Los Angeles to begin preparations for Batman:Begins.
The first step was to finalize the cast.
Gary Oldman and Liam Neeson were among the first to sign contracts, officially joining the production. Soon after, Gilbert extended invitations to Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.
Morgan Freeman was one of the most famous Black actors in all of Hollywood — his face embodied kindness, wisdom, tolerance, and a touch of dark humor.
On screen, Freeman often portrayed wise elder figures — he had even played both a president and God himself.
However, unlike his gentlemanly image in films, Freeman's private life had often been the subject of controversy.
That didn't matter much for the film, though. The only real concern was that the media might dig up old scandals and use them to attack the movie.
But then again — who in Hollywood could survive a scandal-free background check? Gilbert had fought through worse smear campaigns before.
Back during the production of Speed, the wave of tabloid attacks and rumor-mongering indirectly contributed to River Phoenix's early death.
If necessary, Gilbert was ready to face another round of media warfare. After all, he was cleaner than most people in Hollywood and had nothing to hide.
As he always said, "Movies aren't about choosing moral models."
If casting decisions were made based on moral purity, then no one in Hollywood would qualify.
Even in the Chinese entertainment industry — which faced heavy public scrutiny — chaos was rampant: rich women with young male stars, idols sleeping with fans, affairs, and even group scandals were commonplace.
Did anyone really expect Hollywood, a place with greater freedom and less restraint, to be filled with conservative moral paragons?
By that standard, every single person in Hollywood should already be in jail.
So Gilbert still chose Morgan Freeman to play Lucius Fox and Freeman accepted immediately.
Michael Caine hesitated at first, but after Gilbert personally showed him the script, he agreed to take on the role of Alfred the butler.
As for the female lead, Rachel, Gilbert made a change.
He didn't like Katie Holmes or Maggie Gyllenhaal. Instead, he had already arranged for Jennifer Connelly to join the cast of Batman:Begins.
In addition, Cillian Murphy's performance during the audition radiated the perfect "Arkham Asylum" energy, so Gilbert chose him to play the Scarecrow.
At one point, Gilbert had considered incorporating the classic Batman: Arkham Asylum game into The Dark Knight trilogy, but he eventually abandoned that idea.
The storyline of Arkham Asylum is arguably one of the darkest tales in Batman's entire canon—be it in comics, films, or games.
As a director, Gilbert had to consider market reception. Would audiences be willing to accept a story that dark? And if not, would it hurt the box office?
The tone of DC Comics has always been inherently dark, quite different from Marvel's style.
However, a story that is too grim isn't suitable for the big screen. Some narrative approaches that work in games simply don't translate well to film. For a movie with an investment exceeding $100 million, it's impossible to go too far into the darkness.
Besides, the pacing of the trilogy was already perfectly structured, leaving no room to insert additional storylines.
On June 30, Sony Columbia Pictures released Spider-Man 2 in North America. In its opening weekend, it raked in $88.156 million, taking the top spot at the box office.
The consecutive successes of the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises seemed to herald the official arrival of the superhero movie era.
Just one week after Spider-Man 2's explosive debut, Gilbert officially submitted a $125 million investment proposal to Warner Bros., which the studio immediately approved.
Shortly after, Gilbert announced open auditions for the role of Bruce Wayne, and Hollywood was instantly abuzz, with countless actors eager to compete.
The second floor of the Melon Studio office building had a large open space, and that's where the auditions were held. The actors' waiting room and makeup area were on the same floor, and each person entered when their name was called.
Christian Bale arrived early at the audition site. Although his agent had told him the audition was mostly a formality, Bale still worried that someone might take his role.
After all, the actor contracts hadn't been signed yet—anything could happen.
To meet the character's physical requirements, Christian Bale quickly bulked up, making himself look stronger and more muscular.
However, he might have consumed too much fat in the process, which left him looking a little overweight.
Still, Bale could lose the extra weight if the role demanded it.
While waiting, Bale saw other actors such as George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Chris Evans, and Heath Ledger.
Unlike the tense atmosphere often found at female-led auditions, the environment here among the male actors was fairly calm. Still, everyone kept quiet—after all, they were competitors.
One by one, the actors went in and came out again.
From their expressions, Bale couldn't tell much about how they'd done.
In this setting, acting was the bare minimum requirement—and putting on a calm façade was another form of pressure on one's rivals.
Soon, it was Bale's turn. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the audition hall.
When Gilbert saw the noticeably bulkier Christian Bale, he was startled. "Whoa, what happened to you? Chris, you've put on weight!"
Christian Bale scratched his head awkwardly and replied, "I went a bit overboard with the bulking up, but I can slim down."
"Yeah, that body's going to have trouble fitting into our Batsuit," Gilbert said helplessly. Then he turned to action director Luca Farias and said, "Luca, Chris is your responsibility. Make sure his weight is under control before filming begins and train him properly for the stunts."
Luca Farias nodded in understanding. It was clear that Bale was in for some intense physical training.
Bale, however, was overjoyed. From Gilbert's words, he could tell he wouldn't be replaced—he had the role. He was officially the leading man, the new Bruce Wayne.
After Bale left, producer Charles Roven looked somewhat dissatisfied. "Should we consider another actor? Chris's physique…"
Gilbert replied, "Body shape can be trained, but temperament is much harder to find. Chris may not be the most comic-accurate Batman, but he's the best fit for this movie."
"I think Ben Affleck would be a good choice," Charles Roven suggested.
"Ben Affleck does look the most like the comic-book Batman," Gilbert explained, "but what we need is for audiences to separate the Batman image from the comics.
"To play both Batman and Bruce Wayne, the actor needs to balance light and dark qualities—and no one does that better than Chris."
In Gilbert's productions, casting decisions were always made according to his own standards. Although Charles Roven, as producer, could make suggestions, the final decision wasn't his to make.
Having worked with Gilbert for years, Roven knew the director's abilities and respected his eye for talent. He said no more.
And so, without giving anyone else another chance, Christian Bale officially secured the lead role—with a salary of $3.5 million.
Before joining Batman:Begins, Bale had mostly worked in independent films, where his pay had been relatively low.
If The Batman:Begins succeeded, his career and his paycheck—were destined to soar.