This news coming out the ears of the Internet about the future of Batman and Superman on film sure is something!
In case you have been living under a rock (or just haven’t Googled anything about The Dark Knight because you thought it was over) will need to catch up pretty fast. Now this will probably feel a bit like whiplash right at first but here it goes.
1. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas could allegedly be producing either a Justice League film or a Superman/Batman World’s Finest flick.
2. Zack Snyder would be attached to direct and possibly David Goyer would write the screenplay.
3. (Hold steady) Christian Bale would return as Batman if Christopher Nolan was involved, alongside Henry Cavil’s Superman. That’s right! The same Batman who just hung up his cape and cowl, moved to Italy, and faked his own death. What the hell?!
This news comes as a bit of a shock to me and quite frankly I’m not sure how to react. For one thing, The Dark Knight Rises was touted endlessly as the conclusion of the Dark Knight saga. Not just the end of the trilogy mind you, but the end of Bruce Wayne’s story. Introducing another story after the finale of Rises will just seem tacked on and forced no matter how well its written, directed, acted, or explained. This of course is not to say that it won’t work and be incredibly enjoyable to see. But no matter how you slice it, The Dark Knight Rises will cease to be the ending we all accepted back in July.
Now I’m sure many fans out there are feeling just as conflicted as I am about all of this. We feel as though Christian Bale returning as Batman in any context is a dream come true after feeling for so long that we would never see him again. That being said we also have to contemplate the fact that Nolan’s established Batman world (grounded in a promised reality) will be viewed differently knowing super powered aliens will exist someday in that universe. Of course on the other hand, seeing Batman and Superman on film has forever been an impossible dream, much less a reality with a dream-team creating it. Like I said, “conflicted!”
Of course this raises so many questions where Nolan’s Batman is concerned. Will John Blake actually remain the Batman of Gotham while Bruce is away fighting General Zod in outer space? Will Blake become Robin or Nightwing and help out around the Fortress of Solitude? Where will Selina Kyle go if her boyfriend gets Omega Sanctioned? How annoyed is Alfred going to be after getting put through the wringer just to have Bruce tell him he was just kidding about retiring and being happy? I know this all sounds like the ending cliffhanger from an episode of the 60′s Batman show, but all these questions will need to be answered in order for any of this tie-in to make sense.
Putting aside the clear cut finality of Rises and all the promises that it would mark the end of Bruce Wayne’s story as Batman, clearly this film wouldn’t be the worst thing ever. Just the fact that Nolan and Bale would be involved once again would give this film so much bankable credit, that it would almost certainly be a fine film. Much of this I still believe is incredibly preliminary and still hinges on the success of The Man of Steel. Though the film has already been reviewed by Warner Bros. executives who seem to be happy, this is also a company who felt Green Lantern was a good film. Of course I find it hard to believe that if Warner Bros. hated the film that they would advertise those feelings. It wouldn’t make too much sense after all to tell audiences their big summer blockbuster is destined to be a flop before it even premiers.
The reality here as always when it comes to DC characters sharing a film is that Warner Bros. are clearly trying to combat Marvel and The Avengers. As this is no doubt the case, perhaps DC has finally come up with a way to make this happen. Clearly there would be no better way to promote a DC buddy film than to have Christian Bale return to play Batman.
Yes the return of Nolan’s Batman into a super powered alien inhabited universe will need some explaining. Ok tons of explaining. There will be plenty of fans who hate everything about this. Many fans are probably in ecstasy about this news as well. At this incredibly early stage of speculation, my first instinct is to feel very betrayed at the thought of The Dark Knight Trilogy not telling me the full story as it always promised to do. I have always been curious to see a live action Superman/Batman film but as of right now it just feels forced.
If Nolan, Bale, and Goyer are involved I’m sure it will be a fine film, and the concept of getting more Nolan Batman is incredibly enticing. The scariest part of all is that this film will somehow tarnish the trilogy that we all know and love. It seems like we could have a Schumacher Batman and Robin situation of our hands. I’m not saying it will be as goofy, but it certainly has the potential to stall the franchise that gave so much to DC and Warner Bros if it fails. Is this really a chance that needs to be taken? We will just need to wait and see!
We are currently seeking Film contributors on WhatCulture. To find out more about the perks of being a Film contributor, click here.
7 Comments
There is a conflicting report that only Christopher Nolan will be attached to the Justice League…
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Christopher-Nolan-Christian-Bale-Out-Latest-Justice-League-Rumors-36164.html
But in any event, whichever way it goes, it would be better for them to recast the role of Batman with someone else. If they do (and they revisit the origin story in a solo movie) I think it would be somewhat cool to have Christian Bale do a take on Thomas Wayne…perhaps explore his history a bit and set up a Court of Owls conflict with the new Batman. It would be a nice way to pass the torch both symbolically and in an interesting way since Thomas Wayne has never been fully explored and his influence on a young Bruce never really portrayed in a substantive way. I am a huge fan of the Dark Knight Trilogy but there are other iterations and stories that can be told about The Dark Knight that should be…including ones that better fit in the world of the Justice League.
People are jumping to conclusions. What if the Justice league action chronologically takes place in the 8 year period between Dark knight and rises?? FOOL I think if Nolan went with Bale he’d make it work. Also, what makes Bruce Wayne any different than a Tony Stark? If a mortal human works for Avengers why not Justice League??
“What if the Justice league action chronologically takes place in the 8 year period between Dark knight and rises?”
There is: 1) a rather lengthy dialogue between Batman and Commissioner Gordon when Gordon is in the hospital after being attacked by Bane’s goon where he basically says he has been doing nothing for eight years; 2) the exchange with Alfred regarding him coming back to being Batman would be nullified; 3) (based solely on memory) I believe in the chase scene after Bane’s attack on the stock exchange the video footage that Daggert/Selina are watching states something to the effect that Batman has returned after years away; and finally when talking to Luscious Fox he explicitly states “I am retired.”…so in short, The Dark Knight Rises pretty much centers around him not being in action for years.
“Also, what makes Bruce Wayne any different than a Tony Stark?”
Nothing when you look at it at face value, however the original Iron man links the universe with the introduction of the idea of the Avengers. plus subsequent movies reinforced that idea. I think that is ultimately the point. The Dark Knight trilogy does NOTHING to acknowledge a broader super hero universe. In fact it went out of its way not to. So to do so now would seem forced.
The ONLY way I think they could get around this…and this is rather out of the box thinking…is to have a 4th stand alone Dark Knight movie that does in some way acknowledge and embrace the rest of the DC universe.
We know Batman wasn’t seen in Gotham in that time. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t somewhere else (Metropolis)
Don’t be so closed minded about it. It’s a movie so they could do whatever they want. What it boils down to is that Bale and Nolan are probably the best thing that ever happened to a floundering superhero so let them do whatever they want. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining and in the end that’s what it’s about right??
I don’t disagree with you. I am not dead set opposed to the idea. In fact when you state “What it boils down to is that Bale and Nolan are probably the best thing that ever happened to a floundering superhero…” i would take it a step further and say that they are the best thing that has happened to the whole genre. So far everything Nolan has done has impressed so i have faith he will do so again.
Not a full movie without the rest of the league… I’d like to see a small scene where Batman tells supes to stay away from Gotham…