1. Joss Whedon
The Avenger turns Bats?
Limited CV: Avengers, Serenity, Angel (TV), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV) This 48-year-old native New Yorker must be sat there with a pretty smug grin on his face about now. The Avengers made the sort of money that guys in suits sacrifice their entire moral compasses for and its safe to say that Whedon is pretty much set for life. And hed only directed two features previously too; the much delayed The Cabin in the Woods and 2005s fan favourite Serenity. How did he do it? Well, Whedon is a pretty superb writer, having cut his teeth on early 90s sitcoms such as Roseanne before co-penning the now iconic Toy Story. Then he created Buffy the Vampire slayer, then Angel, then Firefly. He basically spent the better part of fifteen years developing his ability to create fantastic, gritty yet believable characters (often anti-heroes like Angel, or Serenity Captain Mal Reynolds). Then he poured all that into a superior Avengers script that beat away all contenders like an angry Bruce Banner. Did I mention that Whedon is also an active contributor to the comic book industry? Hes mainly published Buffy/Angel books but he has had runs on regular Marvel lines such as the Astonishing X-Men (the success of Avengers is really starting to make sense huh?). But did you know that Whedon actually contributed to the DC issue
Superman/Batman #26? Hes almost definitely a Batfan. In fact, early episodes of Angel absolutely pang of Batman; its all David Boreanaz stood on rooftops surveying the city, his long black duster coat fluttering in the wind. In fact theres a point where Cordelia even tries to dub Angel The Dark Avenger. You might say that say that after Avengers, Whedon is a little too associated with Marvel to be considered to direct a Batman reboot and you could be right, but with what Ive seen of Whedons output so far I could scarcely think of a more perfect fit. With Avengers, Whedon showed us all that he knows how to do a comic adaptation by the book. I cant help but feel that, with Whedon at the helm, the Batman reboot would be closer to the comic books than it ever has been. And if its to fit together seamlessly with an upcoming Justice League movie, thats clearly what has to happen.
Whedon's Batman: Glorious So there you have it. Nolan will end his involvement with Batman after the dust from TDKR has settled, and Warner Bros. will look to reboot him; its just too much of a money spinner for them not to. Did we miss any? Who would youre best pick be to pick up Nolans bat-torch?