With Christian Bale hanging up his cape, who will be the next Batman?

Christian Bale, who helped revive the Batman franchise, says he will no longer star as the caped crusader.

The identity of The Caped Crusader may remain a mystery to the citizens of fictional Gotham, but fans of the Batman franchise are clamoring to find out who’ll don the iconic mask next.

Christian Bale, 37, recently told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the upcoming “Dark Knight Rises” film will be his last, and that his decision to pull the plug on “that Batman era” stemmed from a need to move beyond the comic-book action flicks and onto other projects.

“I wrapped a few days ago, so that will be the last time I’m taking that cowl off,” he said. “I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done.

“Everything’s finished. . . . That will be the end of that Batman era.”

But while the English actor moves on to other things — he is set to star in Zhang Yimou’s China-set period drama “The Flowers of War” — a new Hollywood hunk will need to step in and take his place.

Here are a few potential industry heavyweights who just might be able to fill Bale’s rubber-clad shoes:

RYAN GOSLING

The of-the-moment sensitive guy (and unjustly snubbed for People’s Sexiest Man Alive title, according to fans who picketed outside the magazine’s office) can do no wrong. He loves his dog, George, stops fights in the middle of the East Village, and has a perpetual boyish smirk that does well both on and off the red carpet. Bulked up and suited up, he could make a smooth transition from super-cute to superhero.

CHRIS PINE

If nothing else, Pine has the intense gaze and jawline to pull off a brooding Bruce Wayne. And after his turn as Kirk in “Star Trek,” Pine has garnered the kind of clout in action films that will pardon him from career choices like “Just My Luck” opposite Lindsay Lohan.

HUGH DANCY

Claire Danes has a knack for darker, thoughtful roles, and her husband is no different. Dancy, who most recently starred in “Martha Marcy May Marlene” opposite new indie wunderkind Elizabeth Olsen, can shift between subtlety and straight-man almost seamlessly, and his natural charm will likely make for one dashing vigilante.