Christian Bale Was Jealous About Ben Affleck Playing Batman

Jordan Zakarin

Christian Bale misses growling.

Thanks to his run in the Dark Knight trilogy, Bale is the definitive Batman for a generation of fans. But with Warner Bros. rebooting the hero so soon after the 2012 finale The Dark Knight Rises, the Oscar-winning actor admits that he felt the urge to pull back on the cape and cowl.

"I've got to admit initially, even though I felt that it was the right time to stop, there was always that bit of me going, 'Oh go on… Let’s do another,'" Bale told Empire Magazine in the December issue. "So when I heard there was someone else doing it, there was a moment where I just stopped and stared into nothing for half an hour. But I'm 40. The fact that I’m jealous of someone else playing Batman…. I think I should have gotten over it by now."

Related: ’Batman v. Superman’ Producer: Ben Affleck Was Always Our First Choice to Play the New Dark Knight

Bale, of course, is being succeeded as Bruce Wayne by Ben Affleck, who will play a more grizzled version of the billionaire superhero in Zach Snyder’s 2016 movie Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and then spin-off films from there. 

"I haven’t spoken with Ben, but I emailed him offering bits of advice that I learned the hard way," Bale said. "I would imagine he is doing everything he can to avoid doing anything I did."

On the bright side, Bale isn’t struggling to find work: He’ll star as Moses, one of the original superheroes, in Ridley Scott’s upcoming blow out biblical adaptation, Exodus: Gods and Kings, out next month.

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

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