Jake Gyllenhaal discusses Christopher Nolan breaking the news that he lost out on a starring role in Batman Begins.

Per Variety, Gyllenhaal opened up about the topic during a recent interview on The Howard Stern Show. Gyllenhaal stated, "To [Nolan's] credit and to Baz [Luhrmann's] credit, both of those directors called me personally to tell me [I didn’t get the role]. And they will tell you why. When you get that far, there's a real legitimacy to you potentially getting something."

Regarding the call he received from Nolan, Gyllenhaal noted, "I remember getting a call from Christopher Nolan and thinking, 'I just got a call personally from Christopher Nolan. That's pretty cool. I've gotten pretty far. I went from them going they aren't sure [about me] to a call saying they're really thinking about you for this movie. So okay, I should keep going. I should just keep going." Despite being writer David S. Goyer's top pick for the role, Gyllenhaal ultimately lost out to Christian Bale, who portrayed the Dark Knight across the entirety of Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Jake Gyllenhaal Is Still Open to Playing Batman

On the subject of Batman, Gyllenhaal recently discussed the possibility of portraying the role for the upcoming The Brave and the Bold feature film, stating "It would be an honor always [to play Batman]. Those types of things and those roles are always classics." Currently, The Flash's Andy Muschietti is attached to direct The Brave and the Bold, which DC Studios boss James Gunn previously described as "the introduction of the DCU Batman." The film is said to be inspired by writer Grant Morrison and artist Any Kubert's 2006 Batman comic book story arc, "Batman and Son," which dealt with the introduction of Bruce Wayne and Thalia Al Ghul's son, Damian, the current Robin.

In February, Gunn dismissed rumors that The Brave and The Bold would be held back until after Matt Reeves' The Batman trilogy starring Robert Pattinson was completed. This stood as the latest The Brave and the Bold rumor Gunn has shot down, as he previously confirmed that Supernatural star Jensen Ackles was not attached to the leading role. Gunn noted that there were no specific actors in the running at the time due to the lack of a script for the film.

Source: Variety