8. The Dark Knight Returns
I have a feeling this might be a bit of a tough one to understand so bear with me. First of all, Nolan's final Batman film incorporated many elements of this story into its narrative, such as the extensive time gap between the second and third film, the re-emergence of Batman into Gotham because of a pervasive criminal and social threat, and the notion of Batman retiring. However, Nolan's final Batman film also received heavy complaints from fans regarding plot holes and illogical story developments, such as Bruce's return from the pit, and the fixing of his broken back. With that in mind, it seems that the sprawling, socially aware odyssey that is The Dark Knight Returns would fare even poorer if it were to become a film. Possibly the first plot hole to be criticized would be the age of Bruce Wayne. Not to mention that Returns was written under very different social conditions, and its reflection of those conditions wouldn't necessarily work within our own modern context. Put simply, there would be too much to change to make it palatable to a widespread audience, and the end results would likely be a pale imitation of The Dark Knight Rises. Despite it's brilliance as a comic book story, and its valuable themes and messages, the suspense of disbelief required by the comic book is very much only plausible because it is a comic book. Film's seem to require higher standards of realism these days, and it is for that reason that I believe this would make a poor film.