How bad is it that I'm so morally desensitized that when I hear that comedian Daniel Tosh claims to legitimately find the concept of rape 'funny', I have no reaction. Nothing like the Internet's reaction to it, anyway. My awesome and beautiful bride-to-be informs me of this days after it occurs (because I live under a rock and the only news I read pertain to pro wrestling, comics and movies) in a disgusted manner, and I don't offer up so much as a 'how dare he!' against him. I just say 'meh. sounds like him.' The point to this is that I don't give a shit about this either way, but the thought of Nolan's Batman trilogy coming to an end saddens me to a state of near depression.
Much like The Avengers, I'm in a bit of a crisis over DKR, but a much deeper one due to the fact that, while Marvel will continue to pump out new franchises (Guardians of the Galaxy? Really?) and sequels until the zombies come, this is the True Death for this series of movies. Bale is done. Nolan, done. While a large part of me wants these movies to come out every couple of years for the rest of my life, there's a small and shy but logical part of my brain parts that tells me that can't happen. And right beside him is the loud and obnoxious 'Captain Obvious' part of my brain that's screaming 'THEY ARE GOING TO REBOOT THE SHIT OUT OF THIS EL-OH-EL'. And so they will.
There are already talks about a Batman reboot, and that scares the everloving shit out of me. People are giving The Amazing Spider-Man shit for being a reboot too soon after the original, even though it is FAR superior to that original. Same goes for The Incredible Hulk, made even sooner after the original than Spidey was, and was arguably the better movie (not great, but better). The problem here, according to Captain Obvious, is that there is no way in the Seven Hells that this reboot is going to be better than any of the three Nolan Batfilms. The reboots will be different, sure, and I will watch and probably like them by default because duh, it's Batman...but they won't be the Dark Knight Trilogy. I figure that since this is the case, I might as well throw my hat into the ring.
Before I wish Nolan and Bale all the best in their future endeavours, I would like to put forth some ideas for the next go-round Hollywood has with the Dark Knight that would both stay true to the lore and characters that mean so much to me, and at the same time straying away from reapplying the Dark Knight Trilogy formula (likely incorrectly). This is really more of a wish list of things that I think could really work, if done right, and I even throw in some casting suggestions while I'm at it.
#6: Batman Beyond
This would be a WAY new direction for Batman (yeah, I know the Beyond show is like 10 years old, but...shut up).
For those of you unfamiliar with the synopsis, knowledge is incoming. Basically, we find Bruce has become a crotchety old man that doesn't get to do Bat-stuff any more, so he finds a newly orphaned and angry youth in Terry McGinnis to be the new Batman (kinda sounds like the origin of Robin, doesn't it?...What did I tell you about shutting up?).
This is a fresh take on Batman that hasn't been pushed to anyone who isn't a fanatic like myself or was a 10-year old boy 10 years ago. We have the same concept, the familiar main character in a new role, and a new character that we can accept because he's close-but-not-the-same to the Batman we know. I was a denier of Beyond since its release due to my resistance to change, but we can't stop the change from happening now, so if we're doing something new, why not get as far away from the DKT as possible. The tone would be different, the setting would be more futuristic and Fifth-Element-like, and the young but not quite as grim hero might be more relatable to the younger audiences.
Casting: For Bruce Wayne: Clint Eastwood (if he's still alive); Terry McGinnis: Aaron Johnson.
Clint is pure dream casting for me. Bruce on the show had to have been designed off of Clint. As for Johnson being our new Bat, he has proven that he can be both serious business in Savages, and a funny superhero in Kick-Ass. That balance is what made Terry different from Bruce, and it would be what is needed for this.
#5: A Direct Novel Adaptation
This doesn't happen a lot with ongoing comic adaptations. You take an open-and-shut story arc from the source material and convert it into a film, or a series of films if need be. This not only does the writing for you, it ensures that what you're making has been accepted and appreciated by your target audience and really would be the easiest way to go. Just ask Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen).
Batman especially has a wealth of storylines that could become excellent works if done carefully. And therein lies the rub. If you take a pre-existing story and transfer it to film, it needs to be exactly that. There's no room for altering the story or you're going to piss a whole Comic Con's worth of fanboys who will turn the Internet War Machine against you and you'll never make another dime. Again, look at Snyder and Watchmen. The alterations that were made in his film (that I actually liked more than the original) almost prevented the movie from being made. So if you're doing this, do it right.
As I said, there are lots to choose from with Bats in terms of stories that would work. Hush comes to mind, and you could get a good two or three movies out of that. The Long Halloween is another, but Batman Begins already took some a little influence from it so that could be risky. I really enjoyed Kevin Smith's Cacaphony and Widening Gyre books, and would also love to see The Killing Joke onscreen, if we can find someone brave enough to play the Joker again.
Casting: Batman/Bruce Wayne: Jon Hamm
Mandi and I watch Mad Men religiously, and every once in a while I say to myself, 'Self, I think that Don Draper could be Batman.' It works here because it's not the origin story, so Batman can be a little older then Bale was at the beginning. And just watch that video. He's just never happy. That's Batman all over the place.
#4: The Dark Knight Returns
Yeah, technically this should fall under #5, but bear with me.
Returns has been established as one of the most important graphic novels ever published, as well as being the most responsible for the Batman character that we know and love today. Its dark overtones and political critique make it unique to most other works of its kind, and I would love to see it done. An argument can be made that no film could do this book justice, but the same was said about Watchmen, and while the movie is nowhere near as important as the book is to pop culture, it was still pretty damn good in my opinion.
This is actually a pretty decent mix of #5 and #6 on this list in that it is an individual story arc but is a fresh way of approaching the legend of the Dark Knight. The story is about a retired Batman, who sees his city descend into a new level of Hell and dons the cape and cowl once again to take Gotham back, old school. It is one of my favourite Batman stories, and the best work of Frank Miller ever in my opinion. I figure, if Sin City and 300 can get the film treatment, why shouldn't this? Hell, you could probably get a couple movies out of it, considering the length and content.
The problem, like with Sin City, 300, and Watchmen, is that it's SO extreme and Frank-Miller-y that only a certain demographic will be able to enjoy it. Serious shit happens in this book that I wouldn't subject most children to, and even if I did, they wouldn't get it. So I understand why this hasn't happened yet, and why it may never happen, but I do so ever wish it would.
Besides, Batman beating the shit out of Superman? That NEEDS to be on screen somewhere.
Casting: Batman/Bruce Wayne: Mel Gibson
#3: Pull a 'Smallville'
The concept of Smallville was great, and it obviously worked (despite the total lack of payoff in the end) with getting a 10-season show out of it. Here's the thing though, it will work even better with Batman for two simple reasons: the rogues gallery, and the main character.
The problem with the first half of Smallville is that you're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Lex to start fucking shit up. They tease it a lot until they go full on Big Bad circa season 6 and 7. That's at least 6 years waiting for something to happen. That sucks. You wouldn't have that with Batman. No watching Bruce befriend a comedian in season 1, only to watch the next 5 years saying to yourself, 'When the fuck is he going to go into the toxic waste and become the Joker?' There are so many antagonists for Batman, with all of them being interesting, that it'll never get old. Also, since it's a TV show, you don't have to pull a Burton and kill off every second bad guy, just have recurring villains.
And let's face it, Superman is pretty fucking one-dimensional. He needs to be, don't get me wrong, but Batman isn't restricted that way. He can go from 'Bruce Wayne' to 'I'm Batman!' to 'I'M THE GODDAM BATMAN!' and back again, no problem. Since the TV show allows for an extended development of that character, it wouldn't feel random or rushed. Season 10 Clark Kent was the exact same as Season 1 Clark Kent. That shouldn't, and wouldn't happen with Bruce Wayne.
Casting: Batman/Bruce Wayne: Ben Mackenzie
Like #5, he doesn't have to be too young, but still keep him in him upper 20's-early 30's. While tons of actors fit the bill, Ben has always been a favourite of mine for being the broody, serious business type in Southland and The OC (I know, I'm ashamed). The big selling point is that he actually voiced Bats in the Batman Year One animated movie, and sounded great. Speaking of animated...
#2: Bring Back Batman: TAS!
Seriously, nostalgia goggles or not, this shit was awesome.
Batman has undergone some abysmal animated outings since TAS went off the air. We have The Batman, Brave and the Bold, and another just-as-retarded-looking Beware the Batman series on its way. The Batman was basically Marvel's Ultimates version of Batman, and might have had a prayer if it didn't have TAS to compare to. Brave and the Bold went in the direction of 60's Batman, Adam West-style camp humor, and it is fun to watch but again, it's not TAS.
DC has been releasing one-off animated films which are excellent on average, with Batman: Under the Red Hood being my undisputed favourite. The concepts here are similar to #5 in that they are mostly adaptations of story arcs, and they work. Converting this into an animated series would work, and would be much more on the radar than what they are doing now with the animated films.
I said it in my last post, Batman: TAS was a perfect adaptation of the source material, and I need it back in my life.
Casting: Batman/Bruce Wayne: Kevin Conroy. Obviously.
#1: Let It Be
This is the true best case scenario: we leave Batman the fuck alone for a little bit. I know that I'm probably the last person that should be saying it, but back off. Batman has been overexposed like crazy since Begins came out, and this franchise is the only one putting up competition against the Marvel Movie Machine. I say we sit back, read the damn comics, and hope that DC can get another film franchise going. I'm interested to see what Snyder can do with Superman in Man of Steel. The Green Arrow TV show starts in September. There are still animated films and series to look forward to. DC is in pretty good shape as long as they stay the fuck away from Green Lantern and we all go on with our lives pretending it didn't happen.
So yeah, here we are with three films that are way better than they have any right to be. I remember a time when the world had three great films to live with, demanded more, and got Jar Jar Binks.
Knight Owl
I watched Batman TAS recently on Teletoon Retro, it is still just as awesome as it was in the 90s.
ReplyDeleteThey are making a two-part animated film about TDKR with Robocop Peter Weller playing Batman. I doubt they would make a live action version of the story as well.
ReplyDeleteI think Batman beyond would be a great approach, it would definitively be something we haven't already seen (which is a lot).
I also think that they could put Batman in the JL movie and not need a set-up for him, because he is well known.
Like I said before, doing a Robin story right-setting up the father-son relationship while showing us how much training and dedication goes into being a crimefighter.
I don't think BTAS should be revisited, because its perfect as it is; there is so much continuity built into the DCAU that it would be hard to make a new story set in that continuity.
My best bet is that they will go for a different tone, like how Brave and the Bold was a love-letter to the Silver Age or how The Batman was inspired by hi-tech/steampunk/manga influences. Beware the Batman promises to be an original approach as well, and while these other versions won't be as good as the original BTAS (like the Nolan trilogy) they will still be unique and interesting stories.