Rumours began swirling around yesterday that Christian Bale is in talks to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne for the impending Justice League of America film, with Christopher Nolan also jumping on-board to probably produce and act in an advisory role much like he is on Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel.
While it might suggest to many that the project has someone attached to it who actually knows what they’re doing, I’m still pretty unconvinced that a) a Justice League movie will ever get made and b) that it will actually be any good.
Maybe I’m just cynical, but Nolan and Warner Bros really have their work cut out if this is going to be a success; Marvel managed to make us care about their characters before making the big ensemble movie, but so far, the only character we have any reverence for from JLA is Batman.
Here are 10 reasons Nolan and Bale shouldn’t work on the JLA film…
10. It Could Taint The Dark Knight Trilogy
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy was, for the most part, pretty damn impeccable; the aesthetic and the intelligent narrative helped to redefine the superhero movie and convince people that they can be taken seriously rather than just be regarded as flippant entertainment. One can’t help but feel that dredging all this up again is going to potentially taint the self-contained brilliance of this trilogy.
Though haters could simply ignore the JLA movie and pretend that it doesn’t exist in the event that it doesn’t live up to Nolan’s vision of Gotham, that’ll be a lot harder if Nolan and especially Bale are both involved. Were it a soft reboot, it would be far easier to let things go, yet their stamp of endorsement could help to de-legitimise the brilliant trilogy they worked so hard on.
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16 Comments
Or they could just reboot Batman, which I hope they will. Nolan’s Batman films are good but Batman himself was dumbed down too much he can’t be the brain of JLA. Or maybe it could be a good thing so the Justice League wouldn’t be like “Batman and his b!tches” anymore.
Btw I don’t think that will happen at all since Nolan himself said superpowers simply don’t exist in his Batman universe.
Finally….a logical article to put the dumbies and their ridiculous opinionsnto rest I hope…there’s everything going agains this idea of bringing him back..and if everyone gets their head out of the hype they would realize that. Would be an awesome idea…but very difficult to pull off…without completely rendering the end of TDKR pointless…and we all know how serious and meticulous Nolan is with his story telling…so I doubt it
You make a great case for why the Christian Bale should not be involved in a Justice League movie, but I still don’t see why Nolan should not be. Even if you reboot Batman you CAN make a realistic movie that includes aliens (see District 9). That has become Nolan’s and a few others modus operandi. I have read an unpublished fan made re-imagined DC universe and it is absolutely possible to bring the Justice League and its main characters into a more grounded world without compromising that spirit of the characters. In my humble opinion, Christopher Nolan should produce the movies and have talented directors such as Kathryn Bigelow, Neill Blomkamp, Alfonso Cuarón, and(already on board) “Zack” Snyder each take on one of the four tent pole heroes (Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern and Superman respectively) but create a shared feel so that they blend together.
I think they should wait a bit more before going in the Justice League way. Have a second Man of Steel if the first one is good enough (no doubt on that), and maybe try to redeem Green Lantern, that movie is bad, but not beyond saving.
Then there’s the Batman issue. I think they could go 2 ways with that. 1) Bale comes back as a different Batman (though it would confuse a lot of people, it wouldn’t confuse me) or 2) Recast Batman, no need for an origin story. I think 2) is a lot more likely. In both cases, it’s not so much a reboot, so we don’t push TDKT on the side too quick, it still is the “definitive” Batman franchise up to date, and we get to have a new Batman.
But Justice League is going to be a tough one, one that needs a lot of preparation, and needs WB to be sure about what they’re doing, and it doesn’t sound like they’re 100% confident about what they’re doing right now (“There’s a gay Green Lantern ? Does that mean Ryan Reynolds have to be gay ?”). So if Jutice League is nowwhere in the near future, could a World’s Finest movie be more realistic ?
World’s Finest : a Man of Steel crossover with Batman, a new Batman, no need to reintroduce everyone before the movie. Superman is already being introduced, and as I said earlier, Batman don’t need an origin story. He is Batman from the begining, à la Batman ’89. Fans get to wet their pants over a Superman/Batman movie, we finally have a chance to witness a Superman vs. Batman fight, everyone is pleased, and in one or two World’s Finest movie, they could introduce us to JLA characters, building up for a future JLA movie. That way, they don’t copy Marvel, and they get similar results.
I thnk your assumptions that a Justice League movie will never see the light of day is unrealistic. Come on, how could they NOT make a JLA movie ? In a time where superhero movies are better than they ever were, and for now, it just keeps getting better, sooner or later, the Justice League will get its movie. It could be fifty years from now, but we’ll get it, eventually.
Bale/JGL – Batman
Cavill – Superman
Amell – Green Arrow
Wonder Woman film, Flash film and Man of Steel 2 for 2015/2016, with a Justice League movie for 2017. That’s how you do it
Yes! Since i saw heard the rumour, I thought Amell’s Arrow would be a perfect fit for the Justice League movie if it’s done, in keeping with, Nolan’s vision.
If you assume the movie will have 5-6 heroes, then you already have half of the team introduced. If they do use Arrow, they could make a “Flash” TV Series and connect it, much cheaper and more of a safe move without risking it because it could fail
Bale and JGL could both be Batman, Bale/Wayne could be Batman international and JGL/Blake could be Batman Gotham.
As for tone, who gives a flip? As along as it is respectful to the comics and not some half-assed Action/Comedy. After all we are talking about a man in a bat costume… an alien that is human looking, greek myths, a big green martian, a man who moves faster than light, and a dude who uses a ring powerd by will! The tone has to be just right.
Also bull, future films will not “taint” the original trilogy, unless you are some elitist film snob who sneers at everything that is not deep, making a statement on society and/or has life changing repercussions. Does Indy IV affect the quality of Raiders? Does Phantom Menace make A New Hope a piece of cinematic trash? Does Batman & Robin negate the quality of Batman (1989)? Does Godfather III ruin future viewings of the original? Does Ninja Turtles III ruin the first one? If so then it’s quite possible that in the future one James Bond movie will ruin the entire franchise, thereby rendering 50+ years of movies unwatchable. How do the future movies taint the past movies?
I say if Nolan/Bale/Goyer are the only chance I have to ever see Batman/Superman on the silver screen at the same time, then let them loose on it.
*”The tone has to be just right” shouldn’t even be in the post, that somehow made it in from another post.
I agree. It’s time for Nolan and Bale to move on and let others take the lead. Nolan was never passionate about the comics. He loves the character he’s making a movie about. In a JL movie, you don’t have time to focus on one character. Even David goyer said he can’t write a JL script because he can only focus on one character at a time. I think Nolan can be involved in some aspects, but a JL requires a lot of time and commitment, so if Nolan is working on other projects then how can he invest time in a JL movie.
Nolan would not screw up what is arguably his best work. so stop worrying about it….
Cpt Crunch said it best: Nolan won’t mess this up. In my mind, I can run a hundred different scenarios in which the Nolan Batman would actually fit into a JLA movie. Imagine metahumans beginning to appear all around the world, and he returns and devises ways to combat them. If done carefully (not over the top), the bat gadgets could come into play. Plus, Bats was always a master strategist. I can just imagine a scene where he’s fighting a super villain mano-e-mano: the villain informs him that Bats has no chance. Bats pulls out an explosive charge, the villain laughs at him, and Bats detonates it at his feet, the villain plummeting to his demise. Bats looks over the edge of the chasm and says “never sacrifice your footing…”
Yeah….I could see this working.
This article is really negative for no reason. I dont get half of these points. Yes, Green Lantern and Man of Steel are aliens. But who says extraterrestrial life doesnt exist in the Nolan-verse? Nolan made the universe, not you. One of the themes for Man of Steel is “first cotact” with aliens. In a world where Ra’s al Ghul is IMMORTAL, Bane is a superhuman, and Bruce Wayne fixed a brken back with no doctors, who says first contact with an alien race is out of the question? Just because it didnt happen in Gotham doesnt mean the rest of the world doesnt exist. I DO agree that the cheesy aliens and CGI from Green Lantern would never work in the Nolan verse, but if its done carefully and correctly, alien contact would be a really cool theme to explore and expand on in a Nolan verse. Maybe it wouldnt be the giant worms from the Avengers coming through a giant sky portal, but maybe the “aliens” will be more grounded in reality. Both Superman and General Zod are extraterrestrials that look human, why not play off of that? Just because aliens are involved doesnt mean it has to be Thor. Also, in the comics, Batman rarely fights anyone that isnt somewhat grounded in reality. Yes, some of his rouges are out there, but traditionally his rouges are always more grounded. Hes a different superhero than Superman and faces different villians, just the way Iron Man faces other robots and Captain America fought the Red Skull nazi. Every superhero has their specific themed rouges. That doesnt mean a crossover would work. Thats actually exactly WHAT makes crossovers work. Go figure this is the only “Why Bale and Nolan shouldnt do JLA” article compared to every other person out there excited for it.
This article is really negative for no reason. I dont get half of these points. Yes, Green Lantern and Man of Steel are aliens. But who says extraterrestrial life doesnt exist in the Nolan-verse? Nolan made the universe, not you. One of the themes for Man of Steel is “first cotact” with aliens. In a world where Ra’s al Ghul is IMMORTAL, Bane is a superhuman, and Bruce Wayne fixed a brken back with no doctors, who says first contact with an alien race is out of the question? Just because it didnt happen in Gotham doesnt mean the rest of the world doesnt exist. I DO agree that the cheesy aliens and CGI from Green Lantern would never work in the Nolan verse, but if its done carefully and correctly, alien contact would be a really cool theme to explore and expand on in a Nolan verse. Maybe it wouldnt be the giant worms from the Avengers coming through a giant sky portal, but maybe the “aliens” will be more grounded in reality. Both Superman and General Zod are extraterrestrials that look human, why not play off of that? Just because aliens are involved doesnt mean it has to be Thor. Also, in the comics, Batman rarely fights anyone that isnt somewhat grounded in reality. Yes, some of his rouges are out there, but traditionally his rouges are always more grounded. Hes a different superhero than Superman and faces different villians, just the way Iron Man faces other robots and Captain America fought the Red Skull nazi. Every superhero has their specific themed rouges. That doesnt mean a crossover wouldn’t work. Thats actually exactly WHAT makes crossovers work. Go figure this is the only “Why Bale and Nolan shouldnt do JLA” article compared to every other person out there excited for it.
“Though we were all wowed by the trailers that Zack Snyder has put out so far . . .” What? Not only have I been completely underwhelmed by what I’ve seen, I’ve also yet to meet someone who was even ‘whelmed’ by the two trailers so far. It’s “Superman” meets “Deadliest Catch”.
Ra’s al Ghul is nearly immortal in the comics, (however not totally immortal) but in the Dark Knight trilogy, there is no indication that he is anything more than a mere mortal human (novelizations aside). Bane is also not a superhuman in The Dark Knight Rises.