LOS ANGELES -- Christian Bale expects to don the bat cape within the next year, as shooting begins on the sequel to his hugely successful turn in last year's darker-toned Batman Begins.

"They've been speaking about (a sequel) from the first time they opened their mouths," Bale told reporters.

He said he's psyched about becoming Bruce Wayne/Batman again, providing he gets to work with the same director, Chris Nolan. Bale expects to have the same cast back as well -- Michael Caine (Alfred), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) and Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon).

The movie he shot after The New World was in Thailand, a biopic about Dieter Dengler, a German expatriate who became a U.S. Navy pilot during the Vietnam War. During shooting he ingested something his character might have after becoming a prisoner of war.

"I was grossing everyone else out on the crew by eating locusts and crickets, all the different bugs all of the time," Bale says.

"Actually, they get a bad rap. They're very tasty," he says, smiling. "I see no point in sticking to my nice cup of tea from England. I know that. I can always go back there. And I think part of being an actor is having a curiosity about putting yourself in other people's shoes. And that includes eating their food and doing whatever they do. It's a fascinating thing."

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