In a little under two years, we will have a new Batman onscreen by way of Ben Affleck.  It’s a very short turnaround considering that Christopher Nolan just finished his Dark Knight Trilogy last year, but Warner Bros. clearly wants to keep the momentum it gained with Man of Steel, and bringing Batman back into the fold appears to be part of that plan.  Let's not forget, though, that Nolan’s new vision for Batman with Batman Begins was a complete 180 from any Batman iteration—or superhero movie in general—that we had seen before, and the process of casting the caped crusader was the most important piece of the puzzle.

The new Blu-ray set The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition went on sale earlier this week, and one of the many new extras found on the set is a retrospective look at casting the Batman, featuring interviews with everyone from Nolan to Damon Lindelof.  A portion of that feature has made its way online, and after the jump you can watch Christian Bale, Cillian Murphy, and Eion Bailey (Band of Brothers) audition for the lead role and Nolan himself discuss the lengthy casting process.

If you have yet to purchase the Dark Knight Trilogy Blu-ray set, click here.

Via CBM.