Hitting stores on Tuesday, The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray box set features each movie from the Christopher Nolan-directed trilogy that broke global box office records and became one of the touchstones for the modern superhero event movie and their original BR bonus features spread out over five discs. Exclusive to this collection is a bonus sixth disc containing several newly-produced supplements including a 25-minute conversation between Nolan and director Richard Donner (Superman: The Movie) and the feature-length documentary The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy.

In the section of the new doc devoted to the casting process for the trilogy fans of Nolan’s Bat-films will be surprised to find Christian Bale‘s audition for the title role in 2005’s Batman Begins. You can watch it here below.

For the audition, Bale wore a Bat-suit previously donned by Val Kilmer in Batman Forever. As a favor to the casting director, Bale’s future The Fighter co-star Amy Adams played his on-screen love interest Rachel Dawes (played in Batman Begins by Katie Holmes). Nearly a decade later, Adams would take on the role of another famous superhero’s significant other when she was cast as Lois Lane in this summer’s Man of Steel.

You’ll hear Bale use a much lower and less gravelly variation on the Batman voice he ultimately employed for the movies and was equally praised and criticized for doing so.

The documentary will also feature Cillian Murphy auditioning for Batman. Murphy was one of the finalists for the role and though he didn’t nab the coveted cape and cowl, Nolan was inspired to cast the actor as Begins‘ fear-mongering villain Dr. Jonathan Crane, also known as the Scarecrow. Murphy would also return to the role for brief appearances in the sequels The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

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[Source: Daily Motion via io9]