Christian Bale Had a Shocking Reaction to Finding Out That Ben Affleck Is Going to Be the Next Batman

A decade ago, Christian Bale, who rocked the Batman role in three awesome movies, admitted he was pretty jealous when Ben Affleck was picked to play the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

In an interview with Empire magazine, Bale opened up about his feelings when he learned someone else was taking over.” 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,” he said.

Bale knew he should move on but still felt a sting. “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,” he added.

Bale even toyed with the idea of returning as Batman, telling Empire he had a moment of thinking, “Oh go on … let’s do another. “

But he decided to let it go and instead tried to help Affleck out. He sent an email with tips on playing Bruce Wayne. “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,” Bale shared with Empire.

He also gave Affleck a funny but practical tip about the Batman suit. Speaking to Access Hollywood (via The Wrap), he said, “The only thing I said to him was to make sure to [be able to] take a piss without having anyone help him, because it’s a little bit humiliating.” Bale explained that needing help to get out of the costume for a bathroom break was super awkward, and he wanted Affleck to avoid that hassle.

Affleck’s time as Batman didn’t last long, though. The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) got a full reboot into James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe (DCU). According to Gunn, Batman’s big live-action debut in the DCU will be in The Brave and the Bold, a movie based on Grant Morrison’s comics.

It’ll focus on Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian Wayne, as Robin, making it a fresh father-son story unlike past Batman films. A quick peek at Batman showed up in Creature Commandos, but no actor or voice was linked to him yet. Andy Muschietti, who directed The Flash, will direct, with his sister Barbara producing alongside Gunn and Safran.

The project’s moving slowly due to scheduling clashes and the need to keep it separate from Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II. Gunn’s keeping the writer’s name hush-hush, and who’ll play Batman in the DCU is still a huge mystery.

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