Christian Bale reveals why he turned down playing Batman in a fourth movie

After three iconic Batman films, Christian Bale says he was approached for a fourth, but turned down the role for one reason.

Christian Bale just revealed a shocking titbit about hanging up his Batman cape.

The Academy Award-winning actor took on the role as the caped crusader in three films known to fans as the Dark Knight trilogy — 2005’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight in 2008 and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012.

He said that he decided against doing another iteration simply out of respect for the director of the trilogy, Christopher Nolan, and the vision set for the franchise moving forward.

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“When they came (to us after Batman Begins) and said, ‘You want to go make another?’ It was fantastic, but we still said: ‘This is it. We will not get another opportunity,’” Bale, 45, told The Toronto Sun.

“Then they came and they said, ‘OK, let’s do the third one.’ Chris had always said to me that if we were fortunate to be able to make three we would stop. ‘Let’s walk away after that,’ he said.”

Christian Bale ‘walked away’ from a fourth shot at playing Batman ‘out of respect for Christopher Nolan’. Picture: Supplied.

Said Bale: “When they inevitably came to us and said, ‘How about a No. 4?’ I said, ‘No. We have to stick to Chris’ dream, which was always to, hopefully, do a trilogy. Let’s not stretch too far and become overindulgent and go for a fourth.’”

Ben Affleck took over from Bale as Batman in the. Picture: Robyn Beck/AFP

Bale was later replaced by Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 and Justice League in 2017, directed by Zack Snyder.

Affleck reportedly had been tapped to direct The Batman, but relinquished those duties to director Matt Reeves in 2017, while the role is going to Robert Pattinson.

The Batman torch has been handed down from Ben Affleck to Robert Pattinson. Picture: AP.

In May, Twilight franchise staple Robert Pattinson was announced as the star of the upcoming film The Batman, reportedly slated to premiere in June 2021.

Pre-production for the Matt Reeves-directed superhero flick is expected to commence this summer.

This article originally appeared in Fox News and was reproduced here with permission.