Dueling magicians and an auteur talk to Reelz.

Ever wondered what would happen if Batman fought Wolverine? Though the scenario’s been played out in the minds of comic book geeks everywhere, it’s one we’ll likely never see in theaters anytime soon.

We can, however, watch the actors who portray the superheroes on-screen do battle in Christopher Nolan’s riveting new film, The Prestige. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star as Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier, two rival magicians who try relentlessly to top each other in an epic duel for the title of London’s preeminent illusionist. As the stakes get higher, the competition grows more ruthless, involving lies, deception and, ultimately, murder.

Jackman, Bale and Nolan recently sat down with ReelzChannel.com to talk about their latest project, which explores what happens when a professional rivalry becomes a dangerous obsession.

The Prestige is set in the late 19th century, when mysticism and superstition still held sway over a population whose beliefs had not yet been discredited by science. In those days, a talented illusionist could inspire wonder and awe in an audience and achieve almost cult-like stardom in the process.

“It’s a fascinating time, where magic was believed,” says Jackman. “(Magicians) were, somehow, medians with the other world. They held this fascination for adults. I don’t think that exists anymore.”

Though times have changed dramatically, Jackman sees numerous parallels between then and now. “Magicians then were like movie stars or rock stars of the day,” he says. “The pressure on them to be at the top was so intense. They would do almost anything to stay there.”

Jackman’s character, Rupert Angier, is much more of a showman than Bale’s brooding, uncharismatic Alfred Borden. Borden is the more technically gifted magician, however, and he’ll do anything to protect the methods behind his superior tricks, even if it means living a life of loneliness and deceit.

It was that enigmatic aspect of Angier that drew Bale to the role. “There were so many mysteries surrounding this one character that he was immediately the one I wanted to play,” says Bale, who was especially intrigued by “the fact that this man relies upon secrecy not only for his livelihood, but for his very life, and the fact that he was somebody who saw this as being so vital and of such value for his life and pretty much the only thing he’s valued for by anybody.”

Angier’s commitment to his craft trumps all other obligations. “It’s his first love, regardless of other relationships,” says Bale. “The secrecy was paramount, (as was) his obsession, which is absolutely necessary to achieve the level of skill that he does.”

Though Bale collaborated successfully with Christopher Nolan on Batman Begins, the director didn’t immediately consider him for The Prestige. “Chris didn’t actually come to me with this,” says Bale. “I actually read the script and I called him up and said ‘I want in. I like Borden. I can really nail this character.’ The question was: could he see me as anything other than Bruce Wayne?”

Nolan dismisses the idea as mere modesty. “I’d be surprised if he really thought that,” he says, “but he’s a very grounded, very modest individual, so it doesn’t surprise me that he would say that almost out of politeness in a way.”

“When I work on a screenplay, I don’t think of actors playing parts. I think of the characters as characters until it’s all finished,” adds Nolan. “We finished the script and then we said, ‘Okay, well who could this be?’ Christian was certainly the obvious choice in retrospect, but it’s funny how you don’t see it that way.”

For Nolan, the biggest challenge was translating Christopher Priest’s acclaimed novel into screenplay form. “It’s a very loose adaptation but one that hopefully is very true to the spirit of the novel,” says Nolan. “The novel, if you’ve read it, is a big sprawling book with a lot of different possibilities for a film, but one that certainly can’t all fit into a screenplay. So it took us a long time to focus on the elements we thought that would really work.”

Nolan and Bale are set to team up again for the sequel to Batman Begins, entitled The Dark Knight, which starts shooting next February.

The Prestige opened on October 20th and is currently playing in theaters nationwide.