Last year, Pierce Brosnan revealed that he’d turned down the opportunity to play Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 reinvention of The Dark Knight, and now the former 007 has spoken about his decision in an interview with Details.

“It was the beginning of these huge movies, and I just thought, Batman?” states Brosnan. “Batman held such an indelible place in my own childhood, but I said something flippant to Tim Burton, like, ‘Any guy who wears his underpants outside his trousers cannot be taken seriously.’ So yeah.”

Brosnan was one of a number of actors considered for Batman, with the likes of Mel Gibson, Tom Selleck, Charlie Sheen, Kevin Costner and Bill Murray all in the frame at one point or another. The role of course went on to be filled by Michael Keaton, who also reprised the role for 1992’s Batman Returns before hanging up the cape and cowl.

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