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5 Ways to Reboot Batman in a ‘Justice League’ Movie Universe
by Andrew Dyce
(6 of 5)
5 Ways to Reboot Batman in a 'Justice League' Movie Universe
It's a bittersweet time to be a Batman fan: The Dark Knight Rises is still fresh in memory, and the cinematic future of the brand is uncertain. Though the truth may not be what fans want to hear, facts are facts: Christopher Nolan has finished his 'Dark Knight Trilogy' and confirmed that his time with the character is finally over. With Nolan gone, and Bale claiming to be gone with him, the door is open for a new director and actor to tackle the iconic hero.
Director and star may be finished, but DC and Warner Bros. certainly are not. The Justice League looks to be the next film after Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, and is tasked with both introducing new heroes, and (according to reports) rebooting a new Batman movie franchise. While Nolan loyalists may claim the odds are stacked against the next actor to put on the cape and cowl, we see opportunity.
There are some major elements of the Batman character and comics that Nolan completely avoided, and were largely under-represented in past movies as well. If the next Batman films were to tackle those themes and angles, comic book fans could be in for a treat.
Director and star may be finished, but DC and Warner Bros. certainly are not. The Justice League looks to be the next film after Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, and is tasked with both introducing new heroes, and (according to reports) rebooting a new Batman movie franchise. While Nolan loyalists may claim the odds are stacked against the next actor to put on the cape and cowl, we see opportunity.
There are some major elements of the Batman character and comics that Nolan completely avoided, and were largely under-represented in past movies as well. If the next Batman films were to tackle those themes and angles, comic book fans could be in for a treat.
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I try to look at DC’s strategy from all angles but see no way of JL being even half as good as the Avengers. (Especially since they wont be starting out with solo films).
So sad, I really want both DC and Marvel to do really well with their shared silver screen universes but DC looks to be rushing JL which never ends well.
@ DJB
I think i agree with ya there. WB/DC seem to rush things along as they did with Green Lantern. I want both DC & Marvel to do well myself. Id expect atleast Batman/Superman film first before Justice League based off World’s Finest instead of rushing out the whole team on film. Let’s not forget The Avengers did well because Marvel didn’t just rush into it, they went from one film to the next. I agree,alot rushed films don’t end well imo.
A lot of good points on Batman have been made here. But the queston is will the writers listen and use them. Or just ingore them and use there own ideas?
I’d like to see a ’30s era Batman. Sort of a Boardwalk Empire meets Walter White version of the character. No gadgets, just his wits and fists. That’d be intense.
Hmm gonna be hard to pick out an actor to be batman so many choices
I dont think its going to be that hard to find the right actor at all. I think Warner and DC both should look at someone thats been right under their noses since 2003. Clark Bartram who played Batman in Batman:Dead End is the perfect actor to play the Dark Knight. He had the figure, the complete demeanor of what and who Batman truely was and is. His voice was perfect for the role. If you have never seen this 8 min semi pro film, its all over the internet and has been for years. Just google it.Plus I’m sure ther are a bevy of great actors that could fill the bill. Right now, a great majority of fans are trying to match someone up with Bale’s character of batman. I think thats wrong to do. He was good, but not THAT good. Trying to compare to Bale is the wrong thing. Not that DC or Warner would try to do that, as far as they are concerned I think they’re done with Bale. Time for someone differnt.
Simple, Jensen Ackles.
I also don’t know about Clark Bartram being “perfect”. He was in a no budget short film that while decent, was a far cry from great. I don’t think WB should be trusting ANY of the JL characters to no names with little to no real acting experience.
I have heard people say Batman is not a detective and it just ticks me off.
+1
+infinity
@Andrew Dyce
“+infinity” . . .
and beyond!
Signed
Buzz Lightyear
I’ve felt that the “detective” aspect has been short changed in pretty much every incarnation. It would be nice to see that explored and exploited more. I’ve seen other posts that I agree with that The Riddler (done right) would be a good villain to explore that with. Or Clock King(is that the right name?)
Batman is the character who put the “D” in DC.
Batman.
Dark Knight
World Greatest Detective.
Many people forget that also beyond his fighting abilites, he is an Olympic level athelete
His escape ability is second only to Mr.Miracle.
Master of Disguise
Chemist, Biologist, Phsycist
Illusionist
Expert Pilot
Expert Diver
Pretty much the Smartest Hero DC has….
A movie based on the batman beyond series would be awesome a batman based in the future w bruce wayne as his mentor!!
Don’t think WB and DC aren’t keeping that one in their pocket for twenty years down the line
Get back to work!
For me, the Arkham video games have been the best adaption of Batman (other than the comics).
They should take a lot of inspiration from those games and then work around that…
If Batman’s going to be part of the Justice League, he’ll need to be a bit less real-world and the new director/writer will have to embrace the more fantastical side of the character and his stories.
I’m still crossing fingers about that rumor where they said the re-booted Batman will be introduced in a JL film.
Anyway, awesome list Andrew. I pretty much agree on all accounts… except for “1. Striking Fear”: the henchmen, common criminals and a few of the big-baddies were clearly scared when they found out Batman was near, and as an audience member, I found Nolan’s Batman to be plenty scary as well (not in the pee-my-pants kind of way, but I definitely wouldn’t want to bump into him in a dark ally that’s for sure!
)
they should take some inspiration from the game, but it shouldn´t be a game to movie batman version.
Thanks! The criminals were definitely scared, and that’s what I was hoping to feel more of. Like you said, Nolan’s Batman was scary in a fun, exciting way. But no director has ever really shot Batman the way that the criminals would have seen him, in a style more akin to horror (not totally, but you get what I mean).
I get what you mean… come to think of it, that would actually be pretty cool: other than the comics, I don’t recall any medium where we’ve seen Batman in the way the villains would see Batman.
It’s definitely an interesting idea…
I think that kind of take would be cool the see. Nolan got close with the first encounter in Begins. Burton even did a good job with the first scene in Batman. No one has been able to keep up that intensity throughout.
Imagine mobsters feeling like a xenomorph is chasing them through the alleys of Gotham every night. Maybe Ridley Scott (or someone like that) should direct it?
xenomorph, you say?
have u seen this?
http://youtu.be/cxu9LA14-fE
Yeah that thing is sweet. I’d love to see a full Batman vs. Predator
I think they should move forward from just Batman and move on to Batman Beyond. With Batman retiring in the last movie it would work nearly perfectly and give a change of pace from all the Batman movies made so far.
Batman didn’t retire in the last movie, he took a vacation. Everyone has their own ideas about that. But its far too, early to do a Batman Beyond, there are way to many stories to tell of the Real Dark Knight. and those will start with the JLA movie for sure.
vacation? Seriously? wow, did you get popcorn or something during the first two hours?
i would like it to see gotham city again in a architecture in gothic style with huge statues and new future design-a good mix of both. yes,he should do more detective works but he should not mutade to a masked and armored sherlock holmes. just like cap in the av. is the leader so should bat be the head/leader for the justice league because of his human qualities that screenrant mentioned in this article.
True, I also hope that Batman is framed as one of the leaders in the JLA, but in a way that he actually earns it on screen. If Cavill’s Superman is a big success though, that might take some work.
Some good points. Having grown up with the comics in the 60s, I miss Batman the detective.
My wife was afraid of Batman while watching the films, it really creeped her out. And I thought Batman did his share of detective work in the films, when there was room for it- such as pulling thumb print from shattered bullet in the Dark Knight. Or planting marked bills to find the mob bosses.
Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t Batman’s uncovering of the fingerprint what led him to the Joker’s set-up apartment, where the auto-blind distracted the cops so he could attack the Mayor? I partly assumed that was all a set-up by the Joker, who just made a fool out of Batman the one time he tried to actually take the offensive…
yeah, you’re right about that.
he did use detective work on what selina kyle was up to with his safe. He does a lot of detective work, just not crime scene detective work.
just a side thought about the structure of a JL movie vs avengers….avengers had lots of lead-up movies that introduced the characters and then had them come together for a bigger threat. what if we see the DC characters brought together for a JL movie over some threat that they overcome and at the end of the movie we see each of the heroes return to their home turfs where they each realise that something has gone wrong while they were away…like the big threat they came together for was actually a diversion from various other criminals taking over gotham/metropolis/etc and we get a shot of each hero briefly facing individual threats with their iconic villians that lead each of them into their own solo movies? like avengers in reverse….maybe it’s all tied to Lex if he’s introduced in any way through the Man of Steel movie.
I actually LOVE that idea. And it mirrors what DC started the Justice League comic with in the New 52.
oh yeah? i haven’t touched the new 52, so i have no idea what they’ve been doing with it. but i think it would be such a great ending to a JL movie to have a montage of “oh s***!” moments as the heroes all realise they’ve been blind to hometown threats because of their in-fighting and eventual coming together over the JL threat. it’d make the audience eager for all the solo films that would then get to tell more of the back stories of the heroes that couldn’t be fit into JL.
i find the new 52´s comics from d.c. realy cool. i´ve read some online,and did enjoyed them.
I have said this before but……Legion of Doom.
yes, you are right! all 5 things should be in JL movie!
Simple answer for anyone who thinks Bale is the only Batman…
Multiverse!
Villains stay alive, Bruce is still Batman.
I agree with keeping him in the shadows and having him be a character that’s fear based. I have some ideas how I’d do it already even though I’m not a screen writer nor will I become one (having written creatively with character driven stuff for years, including my own take on a Harley Quinn type character).
till now he was the best one, but we will see who will play him and how much they can refresh his character in a possible j.l.a movie. for me bale and nolan have nailed the character in a con-genial way and with some important inspiration from frank millers -t.d.k.returns- ,-batman:year one- and alan moores -the killing joke-. very hard to top bales performance.
Please just get David Fincher to direct
I really wish they just leave this alone and let the franchise breathe for at least a decade. Maybe even more. I’m so not ready for any new Batman movies after the Dark Knight trilogy.
What’s one of the top complaints movie fans have about Hollywood? Everything’s a rehash, remake, or reboot of something we’ve seen before. Right? Isn’t that what annoyed everyone about the Amazing Spider-Man? What would a new Batman movie be? A reboot of a franchise that literally JUST finished. You can still see TDKR in a theater if you want. And we’re already talking about rebooting Batman?
Just work on something new. Give us some fresh ideas and original movies. If it means no Justice League movie, so be it. I’d rather we get an awesome Superman trilogy with Man of Steel and two sequels than a rushed Justice League film.
Raimi’s Spider-Man was suppose to go at least five films,but he and Sony were not on the same page so they decided to start fresh especially since the character was hot at the time and he’s still extremely popular.Most fans were spilt down the middle because alot of fans didn’t like Raimi’s Spider-Man anyway.Nolan’s Batman was suppose to be trilogy and he completed that goal and now many fans wanna see a new and different take on Batman that Nolan really didn’t bother with.And like i said with Spider-Man the same goes for Bats he’s still hot and extremely popular now more than ever.But i do get where you’re coming from.
People are just talking this up because the Avengers did so well and now either people are trying to wish Justice League into existence, or Warner is trying to create something akin to the Avengers at least from a money-making standpoint. Since they certainly need Batman to do a Justice League movie, but the last series was conceived and executed with no thought to any crossovers when it was created, there is going to be talk of having to another version of Batman so to speak.
The problem is at this point what else do they think people need to see? Between the three different sets of live-action versions done over the decades, even more cartoon versions and the recent video games, what else do they think viewers are going to rush to go see in the next 5 years or less?
…I think most of my points are stated as things that people have yet to see, hence something comic book fans and those who didn’t enjoy Nolan’s work would want to see.
The detective and strategist aspects of Batman were touched on in both Burton and Nolan’s movies, but I guess they figured going the action route and opposed to investigator/cerebral route would sell more tickets. If the character is being used as part of a larger Justice League film idea, they could go with the mysterious, calculating style of character that would not require a lot of exposition and back story on the character.
Depending on the amount of time that has passe trying, to do a whole new set of Batman only films could come off like the new Spider-Man. People may not have disliked the new Spider-Man movie, they may have just questioned why the need to see the same story again.
The Cult, a great batman book, dark and scary. Lots of ispiraion there,but I’d ike to see Arkham explored like others above. And get into some of the more “out there” villains, like Clayface or Manbat and Harleyquins time has come.
But fitting Bats into Justice League? He has no choice bt to embrace the fantastic, like Kryptonians, Amazons, Lanterns, Atlanteans, Hawkpeople and Martians. Like it said, Bats is the Strategist of the league, that’s his role. It’s the only way Bruce Wayne can get respect from these godlike beings! lol
The hell? Detective skills not shown? They were shown plenty of times. At the beginning of TDKR when he was figuring out who Selena Kyle is. Using those fingerprints on the bullet in TDK to find that address. His genius and detective skills were shown.
I, for one, do not look forward to new Batman movies or a Justice League movie. Nothing will beat Nolan’s movies. TDK was the best movie ever made, hands down
I really don’t think Bale was shown to be any kind of detective in the three films. He got his leads from others in the first film, got a fingerprint in TDK that led him absolutely nowhere, since the actual Joker had “no name, no other alias.” It led him to a room set up to distract, meaning the Joker made a fool out of him following the one piece of evidence he had.
In TDKR, I was THRILLED to see the Bat-Computer make an appearance…only to be shown cross-referencing the address of the pearls to the mugshot of the thief who probably lived there. In all honesty, Blake seemed a far better detective.
¡¡¡Good Ideas!!!
There are alot of great and maybe not so great points all listed here. I stated in a reply to someone a little while ago that I thought Clark Bartram from Batman; Dead End would make a perfect Batman, though I’m sure it wont happen. But I think one of the bigger points of getting a new Batman or JLA movie launched is being missed. While finding the right director of course is obviously one of the most important issues, a director is nothing without the right writer.
I suggest Brad Meltzer. He’s a New York Times bestseller author who’s done many books and is the writer of one of the best written, in my mind, JLA stories ever written; Identity Crisis. A 7 part JLA arc that brought Batman to the front of the storyline using his best detective skills as well as his leadership abilities. Meltzer also wrote a totally beleiveable story portraying the JLA and all the other DC heroes featured as real and caring and emotional people. Which was why he was pegged a few years ago to do the first 12 issues when JLA was rebooted again.
If you havent read that storyline, do yourself a favor, and read it. Meltzer can craft a great story using almost anyone or thing. I think he could be one of the best writers to be used for both a great JLA movie as well continuing the next stage of Batman’s career. Using the same writer would be advantageous becasue he would be able to work both continuities in a complete world, and then have other writers build off thatfor the other single hero movies. Since Meltzer already knows the industry, it would be a no brianer to have someone like him laying down the groundwork for the New DC movie universe.
Either way, you get the right writer, someone that has working knowledge of the industry and stories, and not someone that has to read a few issues to get the idea of whats going on and then mess it up with his own translation of the characters and story, and you’ll get a kick ass beginning to a shared DC universe that will compete with the Marvel universe.
Im not saying anything against Marvel, both companies have been ongoing rivals for a long time, and I love the Marvel moveies as well as some of their stuff, but I think DC has the ability to put out a dynamite team feature and then seperate movies to really make their Universe come to life.
LOVE Identity Crisis, so I second your recommendation. The one shot of him and Robin (No Spoilers) still gives me the chills. That is the type of heroes I would love to see on film, and in all honesty, think they have to be treated as that human for people to really connect with and fall in love with them.
If Meltzer doesn’t get the job, I’ll only breathe a sigh of relief when the writer they DO go with claims IC as one of his inspirations.
I’ll 3rd the recommendation for a Brad Meltzer working on scripts. The dude is awesome. Gets deep into things and writes about all sorts of topics. And totally hilarious. Have you seen Decoded?
Fantastic article. Nice work Screen Rant!
Sorry, Nice work Andrew Dyce!
Haha thanks, glad you enjoyed it! And I make all my friends refer to me as ‘SR’ so no worries
I believe that the animated series was an excellent representation of how he could disppear and of the moral dillemas while the graphic novels were able to push the violence more like when he used a baseball bat or beats up the mutants methodically
he could have used his detective skills against riddler. would have loved to see him and Harley finally done right.
I wish they’d just do a tangent using Joseph Gordon Levitt as the new Batman or Nightwing. Then we have his complex back story already in place, people are familiar with his character etc
I think in order to make the next justice league work, they would have to make the next Batman film as a prelude/prequel to the movie a la Captain America and especially Thor. Both those movies kinda sucked until we saw The Avengers and realized, ohhhhh, that’s why they did it that way.
to further add to it, they also should use the next Men of Steel to at least establish the universe itself and bring in Batman at the end, and make that Batman film Superman vs. Batman
I really like the idea of the Bruce Wayne vs Lex Luther dynamic. I’ve always felt that was the most organic way to have Superman & Batman come together. Batman fighting corporate and underworld influence and Superman fighting all the giant robots!
One of the good things (imo) about Superman Returns, was Kevin Spacey’s Luther. The idea of his Luther teaming up with Heath Ledger’s Joker gives me chills. Sad it will never happen.
pretty much agree with everything, nolans batman didn’t feel like the batman i grew up with as a kid b/c he didn’t solve cases, fight (properly), think strategically or come across as genuine scary/cool/intimidating.
the only ones that would disagree with this list are kids who didn’t grow up with the original batman (show or comics) and just conform to the ways of the internet as a means of ‘fitting in’.
why is my comment waiting for moderation when i didn’t swear or abuse anyone (the truth isn’t abuse it’s fact) ?
First of all, if Robin is ever in more movies, he needs to be nightwing. Also, PLEASE INCLUDE TZASZ, CLAYFACE AND KILLER CROC!!!!
Zsasz was in batman begins. easy on the caps, there.
In my opinion, this list is perfect. I want a Batman like that of the classic animated series. I personally think the origin story should, for the most part be skipped. I think a Batman reboot should jump right into the action. I think, as far as a look for Batman goes, they should follow the lead of Batman: Arkham City. Give him a cloth, Kevlar suit that will allow him to maneuver and do flips and parkor as opposed to the battle armor he seems to have most of the time. However, I have an idea for a sequel to a Batman reboot. You could introduce Robin/Nightwing by having Bruce Wayne be close friends with his parents. Robin’s original corny costume can be his outfit for the trapeze show. When his parents are killed he dons the costume and tries to find the crooks who did it. Bruce eventually takes the boy in in an attempt to prevent him from endangering himself. But, as he witnesses the boy’s pain at the loss of his parents he begins to flash back to memories of his own path to becoming Batman. Robin could then accidentally stumble across the Batcave where he would gear up, don his father’s performance costume (the Nightwing costume)and then head out to find his parent’s killers, at which point Batman would finally begin to help him if only to prevent the boy from destroying himself.
Is it just me, or did you just recap the plot of “Batman Forever?” Hopefully no glow paint gangs would be included this time around.