Arnie Hammer has confirmed that he was cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman for George Miller’s now-shelved Justice League: Mortal. The actor spoke to E! Online about the project, and said that after the pre-production work they did on the film, he really hopes to see it still get made.

Hammer commented on the fact that they were preparing to shoot in Australia where he and his fellow actors had undergone months of physical training to prepare for the film. "I would spend hours training with actual guns to prepare me for this stuff," Hammer said. "It was very intense. Our workout regimens were so rigorous that most of us would vomit." He added, "We weren't trying to get ourselves aesthetically good looking. We were trying to get ready for the demands of shooting."

Hammer also commented on the fact that they had already fitted him for his Batman costume. "I was looking down, and I was thinking, This is the best," Hammer said of the first time he put on the entire ensemble. "Then I stood up, and they turned me around, and I faced a mirror—there was Batman. But then it hit me like a ton of bricks—it's not just Batman, it's me!" Hammer’s costume included functioning equipment, such as spring-loaded Baterangs.

That said, Hammer is quick to say that he isn’t interested in stirring up a battle of the Batmans with The Dark Knight star Christian Bale. “That guy's got his s--t down," Hammer says.

Although producer Joel Silver has said that Justice League: Mortal has been shelved indefinitely, there certainly seems to be a strong interest among those who had been cast in seeing the film made. With the success of superhero films at the 2008 Summer Box office, who knows? Perhaps Warner Brothers will resume production.

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