Christian Bale in talks to play Steve Jobs for Sony, Danny Boyle

Christian Bale is eyeing — or i-ing, if you prefer — the role of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

The 40-year-old English actor is in talks to play the charismatic tech genius who gave the world the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone in Sony’s upcoming biopic, The Times has confirmed. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.

Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Trainspotting”) is directing the film, which may be called “Jobs,” from a script by Aaron Sorkin, who won a screenwriting Oscar for the Facebook drama “The Social Network” (released by Sony in 2010). Sorkin’s screenplay is based on Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography “Steve Jobs,” acquired by Sony around the time of Jobs’ death in October 2011.

The film has had a few twists and turns: Leonardo DiCaprio previously circled the Jobs role but ultimately passed, and “Gone Girl” director David Fincher was in talks to helm the film at one point.

Even with Bale, the Jobs biopic still faces questions, particularly over whether audiences will continue to be fascinated by Jobs. While no doubt a towering, relevant figure in both technology and culture, those two areas are characterized by swiftly moving currents, and it remains to be seen where mass interest lies when the film eventually comes out.

Rather than take a traditional cradle-to-grave approach, Sorkin said at a 2012 Newsweek and Daily Beast event that the “entire movie is going to be three scenes, and three scenes only, that all take place in real time.” He added, “Each of these three scenes is going to take place before a product launch — backstage before a product launch. The first one being the Mac; and the second one being NeXT, after he had left Apple; and the third one being the iPod.”

Follow @ogettell for movie news