For years, Christopher Nolan was "the" Batman director, helming three acclaimed films starring Christian Bale as the DC Comics icon from 2005 to 2012. Now, director Zack Snyder has taken up that legacy with the forthcoming "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" -- starring Ben Affleck in the famous role -- but as revealed in an interview with Empire, he wanted to make sure he had Nolan's blessing before starting a new big-screen vision of the Dark Knight.

According to Snyder's recounting in the British film magazine, he told Nolan, "You tell me if you don't want me to do it." Nolan responded, after a pause, "Well, we don't own these characters. When you're done making Batman movies, someone else will [make them]."

Snyder disclosed to Empire that he thought Nolan "found it a little bit hard," and he'd feel similarly in that position. Nolan was a producer on 2011's "Man of Steel," which was directed by Snyder and kicked off the current DC Films continuity, which continues this year with "Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad."

At three films, Nolan stands as the current most prolific director of Batman movies -- Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher both directed two each.

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is scheduled for release from Warner Bros. on March 25.