Jake Gyllenhaal says playing 'classic' role of Batman would be an honour

Los Angeles: Jake Gyllenhaal, who lost out the role of Batman to Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, says it would be an honour for him to play the popular superhero from DC Comics.

The actor, currently promoting the Prime Video action movie "Road House", was asked if he was still interested in playing Batman.

In his response, Gyllenhaal said, "Oh, man. That's a classic (role). It's an honour." Calling the Batman role a classic, the actor told Screen Rant: "Speaking of playing roles that other incredible actors have played in the past … "When I think about it, I'm going to play Iago in 'Othello' with Denzel Washington, and I think about the history of actors that have played that role throughout time, and I'm intimidated by that. So that's the first level. That's what I'm working on right now. But of course. It would be an honour always. Those types of things and those roles are classics."

David S Goyer, who came up with the story for "Batman Begins" and co-wrote the script of the first film in Nolan's trilogy with the director, recently confirmed rumours that Gyllenhaal was his personal favourite to play Batman.

Gyllenhaal later joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the villain Mysterio opposite Tom Holland in 2019's superhero picture "Spider-Man: Far From Home".

Currently, Robert Pattinson plays Batman on the big screen for Warner Bros' "The Batman" films directed by Matt Reeves.

An actor will soon be found to headline "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", to be helmed by "The Flash" director Andy Muschietti. This film will officially bring Batman into the new universe that is being created by DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.

The Batman being played by Pattinson, who will reprise the role in "The Batman II" to hit the screens in 2026, remains a standalone franchise.