‘Dark Knight’ trilogy co-creator admits he wanted Jake Gyllenhaal as Batman over Christian Bale

We all want what we can’t have, or what we didn’t have. And that includes the creators of major Hollywood movies.

David S. Goyer aided director Christopher Nolan on the 2005 film, Batman Begins.

And the co-creator of the Dark Knight trilogy admits that he had different hopes for who would play Batman.

The Oppenheimer director had Goyer help him flesh out and co-write the first movie, before going on to write the rest with his brother.

And during an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Goyer confessed his initial hopes for who would be cast as Batman.

Warner Bros.

It had previously been reported that the co-creator wanted Jake Gyllenhaal over Christian Bale.

And Goyer confirmed this was true. But he did add: “Bale is amazing.”

He also says that the head of Warner Bros. personally pushed for the Riddler to be in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, and for him to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Now, that would have been interesting.

The Riddler, of course, is one of the most notorious villains to face Bruce Wayne/Batman, but the creators weren’t totally keen.

“We had all these pitches. I remember at The Dark Knight [premiere], the head of Warner Bros. said, ‘You got to do the Riddler. Leo as the Riddler.

“You got to tell Chris, Leo as the Riddler.’ And that’s not the way we work – not to take anything away from him.”

However, Goyer and Nolan decided not to go that route, instead going where the story took them - which was Bane, who was played by Tom Hardy in the final part of the trilogy.

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

And that really is the final part of the Dark Knight.

Goyer was asked if there would be a potential fourth Nolan-directed Batman movie and said: “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen and I wouldn’t want to do another Batman project either.”

Bale also previously told ScreenRant in June that he would play the superhero again - but only if Nolan was the one directing.

“I had a pact with Chris Nolan. We said, ‘Hey, look. Let’s make three films, if we’re lucky enough to get to do that. And then let’s walk away. Let’s not linger too long.’

“In my mind, it would be something if Chris Nolan ever said to himself, ‘You know what, I’ve got another story to tell.’

"And if he wished to tell that story with me, I’d be in.”