Nolan talks about the Future of Batman
Posted by Rodneyon 08. 12. 2008in News Chat
Director/Writer Christopher Nolan recently spoke up about the future of the Batman franchise and half a dozen reporters nearly swallowed their tongues in antipation of some big reveal.
“I don’t know why they’re hard to do,” Nolan says. “Maybe there’s so much expectation to them. But I wouldn’t want to do one if it weren’t going to be as good as the first or second. That’s not respectful to the fans.”He added, “It was obvious when the box office was so big ($530 million domestically) that we had underestimated how ready fans were to reboot the franchise. The worst thing you could do now that you’ve gotten the plane back in the air is mess up the landing.”
I appreciate that he is moving forward with care. It seemed to have worked out fine for him last time, so I am giving him breathing room.
But this does two things for me. It squashes all the casting rumours and script guesses we have seen online implying that one villain or another would make an appearance. Even Nolan doesn’t know for sure where he is going with all of this. But the other thing it does for me is build more anticipation than ANY casting rumour could. Nolan is taking his time to put out something he hopes will top Dark Knight. He isn’t rushing headlong into this hoping to fart out a lame followup just hoping to ride the wave of success.
Dude, take all the time you want.
This post was written by :
Rodney who has written 8899 posts on The Movie Blog
visit author's website | Contact the Author
What a timely post.
Today on IMDB (News briefing) there was a note on a recent Blockbuster Video poll regarding future Bat-baddies and which actors should play them and/or who they (“the fans” who take the poll) would like to be in the next Batfilm.
I do not take much stock in it. It’s only a poll, but it’s more than obvious that it’s influenced by the internet (false) rumor mill:
“Movie Fans Pick Depp And Jolie For Batman Villains”
7 December 2008 5:39 PM, PST
“Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie have emerged as the people’s favourites to play Batman villains in the follow-up to The Dark Knight.
Movie fans want to see The Riddler and Harley Quinn in the next Batman film – and they want Depp and Jolie to play them, according to a new online survey.
Other top picks for the new film, according to the new poll from video and DVD rental firm Blockbuster, include Cat Woman, The Penguin and tough guy Bane.
And the most requested stars to play Batman villains are:
1. Johnny Depp
2. Angelina Jolie
3. Natalie Portman
4. Edward Norton
5. Keira Knightley
6. Daniel Day-Lewis
7. Philip Seymour Hoffman
8. Viggo Mortensen
9. Kevin Spacey
10. Clive Owen
>/em>
Actually, I thought folks “wanted” Jolie for Catwoman, not Quinn (what’s the deal with Quinn, anyway?! An obsessed ‘Joker’ fan -who carries on his mantle while he’s in jail/Arkham is plausible, but not the costume)
But who’s Bane?
Let me clarify before the damn geek squad shows up…
Which of those actors would be right for Bane?
no pressure, chris.
Take your time, Mr Nolan, take your time. If it’s anywhere near as good as TDK, I’ll gladly wait three, four years.
Oh, and Jolie for Catwoman? No thanks. Give me someone like Rhona Mitra or Kate Beckinsale anyday.
And make Catwoman like she is in Loeb’s stuff, Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Hush. Not a villain, not a hero; something inbetween.
i would rather see david tennant as the riddler and angelina jolie seems more like a good catwoman than harlequin
if you bring in harlequin, youll have to replace the joker
Just as long as there is a sequel. After seeing the cliffhanger ending in “The Dark Knight,” I assumed Nolan already had a sequel idea in mind.
As for villain actors, I’d rather they leave out big names like Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie who’ve already had one too many breakthrough performances. I think a lesser-known face pulling off a well-known role is far more memorable.
I have no problem waiting 3 years if that was it takes to turn out a high quality product. As for the villian, My guess is Nolan wil go with an actor nobody would expect. I for one was perplexed when Ledger was cast as the Joker and it turned out to be an amazing choice! The same sort of thinking on casting will most likely happen again.
Chuck
The only thing I am worried about is that he pulls a JAmes Cameron and disappears for 11 years with only a documentary or 2 to show for it.
The rumors have been quite entertaining. I think the best one was that Nolan actually had enough footage with Heath as the joker that they could make a whole third movie on it.
I think the riddler by Johnny Depp would be superb!!!
he is making smart moves!
As far as I’m concerned..he can take all the time in the world.
Look at how much money the Spider-Man films made..they rushed into a third and while I am a fan of the third one in general, the general concenses would be that it’s awful.
Therefore, Nolan..please, take your time and get it right..just like the first two. We could end up with the BEST superhero trilogy of films ever released.
As far as I’m concerned..he can take all the time in the world.
Look at how much money the Spider-Man films made..they rushed into a third and while I am a fan of the third one in general, the general concenses would be that it’s awful.
Therefore, Nolan..please, take your time and get it right..just like the first two. We could end up with the BEST superhero trilogy of films ever released.
Hmm. I’m hoping that he’s seeing The Dark Knight’s success as anything but unusual. WIthout the titanic build-up caused by Heath Ledger’s death, one has to wonder if it would have simply performed as well or just slightly better than it’s predessesor.
I hope he can resist studio pressure to make another now-now-now to capitalize on something /no-one/ is going to be able to top in terms of sales, and can withstand the inevitable fall-out that comes when Batman 3 doesn’t make almost a billion dollars domestically.
Hopefully he’ll also resist the studio pressure to make it a star vehicle for someone, and use lesser-known or unknown actors.
Edit: That he’s NOT seeing … etc etc.
Reading about Nolan talking about the next Batman flick makes me excited, I’m glad he’s taking time to mulls over ideas and I’m in no hurry for the next film.
I’m a huge Depp fan, but honestly, I’d rather no see him in a Batman movie. In fact, I’d like to continue to be surprised with casting choices.
i’m glad this news came up!!!!!!!!!
:D :D :D :D
Johnny Depp for Riddler
Please stop mentioning Jolie. It’s not gonna happen.
Nolan wouldn’t think twice about casting Jolie for catwoman, no female villains please!!!!
now the riddler i’d love to see
I read about this also exept i read it on slashfilms and they said that Chris planned that to shoot the entire sequel for IMAX.
Agreeeeeed
Thanks Rodney!
I am the world’s biggest TWO-FACE fan and accept the end of the wonderful “Dark Knight” but is it possible that Nolan is pulling our legs
about him ( his bad side, not Harvey ) being dead.
1. They foreshadowed falling from “2″ stories when Batman had Marconi
on a balcony.
2. If TwoFace is dead does that mean Batman actually killed him?
3. This is probally a pipedream and if so the Riddler is the next best
villian to use.
your thoughts? anyone?
Nolan made it pretty clear that Two Face was certainly and without a doubt dead. So no… you wont be seeing him.
Secondly, Batman didn’t kill TwoFace. He just didnt save him. Big difference.
harley really needs to be in.and she can totally be in with out a joker.she can be there trying to destroy gotham for joker’s love/approval.she is super crazy.i mean in the animated series she ran around blowing things up and trying to crush things(and batman) with a mallet,although i’d prefer her to have a sledge in a movie s this realistic.she can just be taking orders from joker at arkam,and the never truly have to show joke maybe a sillohuette or thos like ransom notes could be sent to her.or maybe batman or someone at the begining of the story can be like”she works for jjoker because bklah blah”.
i’m sorry i really don’t like catwoman idt she’d be as entertaining as harls
As much as I hate to say it, I think the joker has to be in the next movie. The dramatic effect his character had on Gotham makes a Gotham suddenly without him less believable. And while no one can ever play the Joker exactly like Ledger, putting a little spin on him isn’t such a bad thing. There are ways to tweek the character while staying true to Nolan’s dark style. This might sound crazy but I would love to see Mark Hamill give it a try. You not think so but just from a voice standpoint he’s the first voice I envision when thinking of the joker and his character could be a nice mesh of his cartoon version and Nolan’s darker version. As far as Bane, it doesn’t fit with Nolan’s storyline because these are Batman’s early years. Bane doesn’t disable Batman until Robin has left and Robin hasn’t even been introduced and I doubt that he will. If Nolan is trying to stick with the comic storyline he can’t skip that many years in one movie
——————————————————————————–