( CNN ) -- Move over , Ashton Kutcher . Christian Bale is going to give the role of Steve Jobs a go . Aaron Sorkin has confirmed to Bloomberg that the `` Dark Knight '' actor has been cast in an upcoming biopic about the Apple co-founder . Sorkin , who wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film `` The Social Network , '' about the founding of Facebook , is at the helm of the picture and said of Bale 's casting , `` What we needed was the best actor . '' `` He really is a phenomenal actor , '' Sorkin said . `` He did n't have to audition . '' Bale will be in every scene , Sorkin said , and it 's an `` extremely difficult part . '' `` He 's going to crush it , '' Sorkin assured . The film is reportedly based on the `` Steve Jobs '' biography by Walter Isaacson , which the late Jobs sanctioned . Jobs died in 2011 following a long battle with pancreatic cancer . Kutcher portrayed the innovator in the 2013 film `` Jobs . '' Bale -- best known for playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in the `` Dark Knight '' trilogy -- will next be seen in Ridley Scott 's `` Exodus : Gods and Kings . ''
Producer Aaron Katz confirmed Bale as the director . The new film is based on a Jobs - approved biography . Sorkin said he will ` ` crush it ''