Christian Bale Was Jealous of Ben Affleck's Batman, Claims He "Should Have Gotten Over It by Now"

Christian Bale had plenty of time in the Batsuit. Three movies' worth! And enough praise to make him this generation's most popular Bat-actor, thanks to the enduring popularity of "The Dark Knight," which people will continue to praise until at least the year 3000.

So you'd think that, even though everyone else on the Internet was fuming over the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," Bale would be one of the few people satisfied enough with the "Dark Knight" trilogy to let things go.

Nope! Turns out Bale was just as miffed as everyone else. At least he's man (or... Batman) enough to admit it.

According to Empire Magazine (reported online via ComicBookMovie), Bale was taken aback by the casting of Affleck as Bruce Wayne.

""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.' 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."

"But I'm 40," the former Batman later added. "The fact that I'm jealous of someone else playing Batman...I think I should have gotten over it by now. 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."

Us Magazine, however, adds that Bale wasn't always ready to admit that he was Bat-jealous. According to them, in an interview with Access Hollywood, Bale had previously stated he was totally cool with Affleck's casting.

"I wish him all the best," Bale had stated earlier. "He's a very experienced actor and filmmaker and he'll make it his own... It should be past onto another actor and it will be again after him."

Meanwhile, ComicBook.com is claiming that the first teaser for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is reportedly set to air in front of screenings of the final "Hobbit" film, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies."

If that's the case, Bale might want to skip that one.

Check back soon for the latest "Batman v Superman" news.