Christian Bale Admits He's "Jealous" of Ben Affleck's Batman Role, Admits Thinking "Let's Do Another"

Oscar winner opens up to Empire magazine

By Francesca Bacardi Nov 25, 2014 9:09 PMTags
E! Placeholder Image

Maybe Christian Bale wasn't quite ready to permanently park the Batmobile after all.

When The Dark Knight Rises actor hung up his cape at the end of the Christopher Nolan-directed trilogy, a lot of people mourned the loss of a great Batman. It turns out, Bale was sad, too! He admitted to Empire magazine that at first he had some regrets about leaving the franchise.

"I've got to admit initially, even though I felt that it was the right time to stop, there was always a bit of me going, ‘Oh, go on… Let's do another,'" he admitted. "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."

Now that we officially have Ben Affleck as our next Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Bale told the magazine that he decided to be a bigger person and lend Affleck some tips as to how to play the caped crusader.

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

Even though he won't be saving Gotham from destruction, Bale has plenty to keep busy since he is appearing as Moses in the upcoming film, Exodus. But that's not all! The Oscar winner has also signed on to the highly anticipated The Jungle Book: Origins. The A-list cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris and Cate Blanchett.

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma; Steve Granitz/WireImage

The actor was also set to play the role of Steve Jobs in Aaron Sorkin's upcoming biopic, but has since departed the project because he ultimately decided he wasn't right for the part, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

What do you think of Ben Affleck as the new Batman? Sound off in the comments below!