As summer fast approaches, so does the concluding part of Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy. Finally hitting cinema screens on the 20th July, few films are as eagerly anticipated as The Dark Knight Rises, which promises to give superhero fans one of the greatest interpretations of Batman that they’ve ever seen.
One question which remains is how Warner Bros can possibly continue to bring Batman to the big screen following the conclusion to Nolan’s trilogy. Will they simply go the route of the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man by taking us back to square one with another origins story ? Or could they be planning to simply pick up the story of Bruce Wayne where Nolan’s film leaves off ?
Whatever happens, it’ll be a good few years before we find out what the future holds for Batman. One thing is for sure however – his return to the big-screen is inevitable, thanks to the enduring popularity of everyone’s favourite moping playboy and the success of superhero blockbusters. As speculation continues to build, here’s just 10 of our own suggestions for ways in which the Batman film franchise can be reinvented on the big screen in the wake of The Dark Knight Rises.
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26 Comments
I’ve come to the conclusion that this Batman trilogy is something that is truly wonderful and something that is not to be tampered with by handing over the story to another director. I think that they should let another director take the character of Batman and do their own thing, start from the beginning, it’s been done so many times with the comic books, why not do it with the movies??? Tim Burton did an amazing job with Batman and so did Nolan, same Batman but from the eye of two different directors.
I think the 8 years between DK and DKR will be where the new team will place their movies. At least at first.
I personally would like to see a cable series via HBO or SHO, maybe even AMC.
I AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT I THINK HBO WOULD DO AN AMAZING JOB WITH BATMAN AS A SERIES. I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
This could be very, very cool. I like your idea.
I think that’s a pretty good idea actually. A HBO mini series could be great.
I think your idea for #2 would be better if it were simply “Bring Back 1960s Batman”. It should be noted that the campiness of the 60s tv show and the campiness of the Schumacher movies are two entirely different things. If they brought back 1960s Batman, I wouldn’t want Jim Carrey or neon colors coming anywhere near it. Instead, it should be a full-on 60′s nostalgia-fest. Like Mad Men with more action and comedy. No nippled suit. Just a gray and blue costume with zero body armor, retro gadgets. You could do away with the theme song and the SMACK! POW! SLURP! stuff, because those things tended to get annoying. But yeah, throwback Batman is the way to go!
I’d like to see a Batman established in a universe similar to the Arkham video games.
I had a idea for setting stage for Batman Beyond and keeping the Nolanverse….Hear me out. Bane destroys Gotham…structurally of course , and he cripples Batman NOT to where he is in a wheelchair.. but where he can no longer fight crime alone and Gotham is naturally saved by Batman but there is still collateral damage to most of Gotham to the point where Gotham City is rebuilt from the ground up. Not built to repair or replace the old buildings Bane destroyed, but rather they build it in the same way that they are doing the new World Trade Centers and how they are doing Tokyo after the 2011 tsunami.See they build the renovated and new buildings stronger and more “technologically sound and futuristic” to ensure nothing like that happens again.That would set the stage for Batman beyond. When Gotham City is done it would resemble Metropolis. It also would draw people, be it criminals ,tourists, buisiness or whatever to new Gotham making Batman’s job that much more difficult because now, Batman has to update his suit and gadgets around the new structure the new era so now jumping from buildings and things like that and even protecting more people to where he questions if it’s worth it!he eventually finds a Terry Mcguiness in the new movies and the coolest thing about this all being in the Nolanverse continuity is.. ( although not being directed by him) it would be that things can be over the top and campy! it’s the future right? so there aren’t as many limitations because you can always creat a technology to justify why why something was “over the top” do you know what I mean? PLUS in Batman Beyond there was a gang of villains called “The Jokers” a bunch of teenagers that thought the Joker was cool and went around recreating his crimes etc. etc…it would be cool to see Heath Ledger’s Joker characteristics spun off in that way.
But yeah something that moves the Batman forward would be cool right now because it’s not many choices left we have seen most villains and interpretations of Batman in the 40+ years of the animated series the old 60′s show the Burton, Schumacher, Nolan series we’ve seen all the cool villains interpreted now it’s time to evolve him. It’s more relevant now in 2012 when tachnology is God than it ever was.
Why not do a new live-action T.V. series? A dark Frank Miller-esque crime drama starring the Batman would be sick!
I can give you plot holes, but come on now…
They absolutely were not poorly performed. Ledger’s Joker won an Oscar for a reason, and Cane, Bale, Oldman and company all did a fantastic job in both movies. As for realism, it was certainly the best yet on screen. It was all clearly based on real technology today. Nolan as a storyteller is among the best out there, bar none.
However didactic and pretentious you seem to think they are, and I completely disagree about it being contrived, these movies are entertaining and can challenge people to think and ask questions. In our culture, this is sorely needed.
Finish with the breaking of Batmans back and then bring in the Azrael character followed by Batmans recovery and return. This gives the franchise a continuation and allows a different actor and director to perhaps give us another three quality Bat movies and the Azrael character (not as well known as the Bat) could be interesting.
What happens to Bruce Wayne between the time his parents are killed and when he decides to become The Batman? Think about it. What is Alfred’s role for a young Bruce Wayne? Where does he go in the years he is away from Gotham? If done right, this doesn’t have to be like Smallville.
Something based loosely off of Frank’s “The Dark Knight Returns” would be great. ESPECIALLY if Tim Burton came back after so long to do one more flick and complete his own trilogy. Michael Keaton is at the perfect age for that concept. Hell, let Burton bring in his version of Scarecrow (he would do it the best with his style) which could even bring in a cameo from Jack’s Joker, and other greats for that matter). We know Michelle’s Catwoman was never killed in ‘Returns.’ And we all miss Elfman’s glorious score.
Think about it… it would be perfect.
Genius!! They could bring back Tommy Lee Jones to be like the two face in the Dark Knight Returns comic. It would be cool to see Jack Nicholson in that all white Blazer that Joker wears in the comic as well.
Not Tommy Lee Jones, but Billy Dee Williams! If Burton returns for one more, it should be like a direct sequel to Batman Returns. We want absolutely NOTHING to do with Shumacher’s blasphamous two movies :)
Ledger was electric. Remove him from the film and you have a series of ciphers reciting metaphors and ideas rather than characters. Nolan’s writing is the very definition of specious – lots of grand themes and ideas, but almost no follow through or substance. Vapid and hollow grandstanding where emotions should be. Christian Bale is one of the dullest actors working – great at accents and physically interesting (although the gimmick has worn thin), but dead in the eyes and a bore to watch. Oldman is underused and underwritten, Caine just recites catch phrases to use in the trailer. Nolan isn’t a storyteller, and that’s the problem. He has a flair for visuals, but his plotting is utterly dreadful and he cannot sustain a narrative. He has some cool ideas and he’s good at repackaging concepts in ways that seem original, but the writing falls flat every time and his films are dreadfully tedious. Give the man a good screenwriter to work with and we might have something worth watching. Until then he is just another flavour of the month. He makes blockbusters that seem cerebral, not cerebral films that are blockbusters.
I still think Michael Keaton was the best ‘Bruce Wayne’, even if Christian Bale is the best ‘Batman’, simply because Keaton had a much more interesting, eccentric and dark take on the character.
I don’t think Nolan’s universe will continue – there will be an entirely new take on Batman in a few years, by a new director… it needs to start again and go in a new direction, like what’s being tried with the new Spiderman.
What I’d like to see is a return to the darkly fantastical and gothic side of it like Tim Burton’s take, but with a more modern twist. Something like the Arkham Asylum game would be great.
Another good reason to allow Burton/Keaton to complete a trilogy of their own, is it will give WB and writers more time to come up with a fresh new way to reboot the franchise with quality.
BTW, I think Keaton was by far the best Batman portrayed on screen. I even preferred his ‘Bruce,’ but can understand why some would consider Bale’s ‘Bruce’ to be better. Regardless of who showcased the best Bruce Wayne, Bale’s ‘Bat’ doesn’t come close to Keaton under the mask, IMO.
Instead of making sequels, have Nolan give the rights to Zach Schneider and make a Worlds Finest movie with Schneider’s own Superman. Marvel is doing the same thing with the Avengers and it’s pretty successful. I don’t see why DC movies can’t do the same with their characters. And if recall, Schneider’s helping to produce the Dark Knight Rises. And Nolan’s helping to produce the Man of Steel. Seems like it would just make sense.
I rather see a Batman of the future movie directed by J.J Abrams which would be awesome thumbs up.
To be honest, I was hoping for an edgier version of characters to go along with the film. N some of the animated films, the world of batman have been marvelous (Phantasm, Red Hood) maybe its a stretch but I was hoping for Robin to be introduced in the along the way. I’d want to be introduced to Nightwing. I’d like to see something along those lines develop.
Id like to see frank millers all star batman &robin adapted to the screen. If they ever finish it of course. And it would be cool for him to even direct it. Robin is such a tough character to bring to the screen in a darker tone and this book for the format would really do it. Plus, who doesn’t wanna see a batman/sin city movie
Jim Caviezel as Batman, Jon Hamm as Superman – set in the 1950′s. Have this be the setup for the Justice League on an alternate earth.
Think harder… with the potential for another Batman movie after several years (even a decade) you have the option for making a movie that does what Christopher Nolan DIDN’T — and that is to show us a fully-fleshed out Batman. His entire trilogy, and I am deeply attached to it, gives us a demythologised Batman, where the legend is shown for its realistic and all-too “human” quality. But the Batman is nothing if that realism isn’t juxtaposed with a larger-than-life urban legend at work. Taking from what the franchise learned from Tim Burton’s 2 films, the Mask of the Phantasm animation, and Nolan’s trilogy, and you have a future where Bruce Wayne is no longer the focus but the Batman and his status as an urban legend and a detective is.
Make the ultimate detective movie. It’s that simple.
First off, I think giving J. J. Abrahms the keys to Batman Beyond would be an absolutely excellent idea. For him to bring his futuristic Star Trek vibe to Batman would be amazing. Secondly, If they were to brink camp back into Batman, I say give Edar Wright the job, and let him make it like Scott Pilgrim, with the BANGS and the KAPOWS and all the cheesy humor.