Christian Bale Shares His Reaction To Learning Ben Affleck Had Been Cast As Batman

Christian Bale admits to being as shocked as the rest of the world upon the announcement that Ben Affleck would assume the role of the Caped Crusader in next year's Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Comic Book Movie reports.

While promoting his new film Exodus, Bale sat down with Empire Magazine and discussed the possibility of doing another Batman film.

"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,' " Bale said. "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."

There was speculation that Bale was being considered to reprise his role from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. While Bale has moved on, a part of the superhero remains with him.

Bale added, "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."

The British actor also states that he has reached out to Affleck as well.

"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 anything that I did."

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters March 25, 2016.