Writer David S Goyer revealed that actor Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the shortlisted names to play Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, while in speaking in one of the episodes of the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

David said that he was in favour of casting Jake in the first film of the trilogy, Batman Begins. However, the role subsequently went to Christian Bale who reprised the Batman role in all three films.

"We would chat about all sorts of things. There were a number of people who had screen-tested, and I had advocated for Gyllenhaal. I mean, Gyllenhaal is amazing, Christian Bale is amazing, so who knows what," said Goyer.

David also revealed that an executive from Warner Bros. wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play The Riddler in The Dark Knight. But Goyer said, “That's not the way we work.”