The Dark Knight Rises Batman 3: Where does the story go from here?

[christpunchers]

I'd enjoy a movie version of return of TDK.

 

[Quinzel]

Black Mask would make things personal. Joaquin Phoenix for Black Mask.

I would watch that.

 

[Robin91939]

That sounds nice and all...but i'd like to see a bit more of The Riddler doing more than just laying out clues...and blackmail isn't really a very suitable thing for a super-genius...I would think he'd feel he's above such things. I'd like to see him do more along the lines of riddles that are basically death trap...at least physically.

On the side i'd like to see him use his genius to extract information from certain people (like gordon about batman) and also learn Batman's identity.

That sounds more like Jigsaw than the Riddler.

The Riddler would get a kick out of the fact that the police think he is helping them- the fact that he has outsmarted them into thinking he is a friend. He'd be bored with them- much like the Joker was bored with mobsters and be looking for a challenge- Batman.

Also- there could be a subplot with him using his time at Gotham Central for another agenda of his own, for a grand plan or GAME for the Batman and Gotham's finest.

Add the end of the mob war with Penguin and Black Mask representing the freak element squeezing in on Thorn and Zucco and you have a film- I think. Concept wise at least. If I had time to rework it and fine tune it into a single story I'm sure I could.

Not to mention you can have the traditional mobsters, who are losing all of their means to the "freak" element, need to find a new way to smuggle guns and drugs- enter Zucco's idea to use the trucks of the circus, enter Dick Grayson and Batman's redemption....


There are SOOOOOOO many things Nolan can do. Any one who says that after this story, which was AMAZING and PERFECT, Nolan can't do anything to come close to topping it- is wrong. There is so much left to say.

-R

 

[ShadowBoxing]

A possible way to go would be to use The Dark Knight Returns as a template. Replacing the mutant leader with Bane (and the mutants with perhaps the gang of criminals from the TDK's climax), using Catwoman instead of Carrie Kelly, and altering the end heavily. Perhaps instead of a giant nuke have Black Mask take revenge on Bruce Wayne by destroying Wayne Tower, the EMP from the blast having a similar effect. Moreover I think you could re-use Joker's role for this as well.

 

[StorminNorman]

I would really prefer DKR be the premise of any Batman movie really. Keep that **** in an Elseworld Comic.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

I would really prefer DKR be the premise of any Batman movie really. Keep that **** in an Elseworld Comic.

Well, Nolan's universe is by definition an elseworld. It's definitely setting up a world, already, much similar to DKR. Remember in DKR their was that atmosphere where Batman found himself at odds with the police, despite having many outside who were skeptical of his status as a "public menace". You have Joker in Arkham (similar), you have a Batman whose consider(ing) hanging up his cape (much similar) and you have a Gotham grounded in a very grim reality. They've also cited DKR as reference in both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, I wouldn't be surprised if the next escalation revolves around a dystopian setting and storyline similar to that of DKR.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

Batman Begins= A superhero flick
The Dark Knight= A more crime thriller flick
Batman 3= A heist flick

I think Nolan is going to try and bring a different flavor to each of his flicks. I posted earlier about a FBI agent Edward Nygma and I think Catwoman would be good in a third flick to equate the idea of redemption.

 

[MaJiN]

I still like the idea from an ancient SHH post regarding the Penguin as an arms dealer. I'd luv to see a scene where the Penguin returns to his penthouse with a bunch of ladies as he discovers Two-Face there waiting for him, sitting in a chair in the dark while flipping his coin. And the scene ends in a brutal gun fight where you'd see the Penguin use his umbrella as a 12 gauge for the first time.

 

[Nepenthes]

i'd like to hear ideas about how you could adapt DKR outside of the context of the Cold War and the 1980's.

 

[TheVileOne]

The way I see it. Nolan's movies are essentially about Batman becoming the Batman that we know today. So the third movie has to continue off of that. A third movie can't just suddenly jump to being THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. A third movie would have to put Batman on a path that would more than likely bring us to DKR.

In Dark Knight you have Bats retreating into the shadows and accepting the sins of the mortals. We need to see those affects. We need to see Batman dealing with being one of the bad guys and heavies. We also need to see the new, fully fledged bat cave, which will be Bruce's sanctum. There were touches of this in Dark Knight. Where Bruce constantly retreats to the underground temporary base for most of his time. But now we need to see Bruce using the completed bat cave as his new home.

I think there are a number of ways they could go that could work.

Catwoman's a really good option. Why not? Nolan and co. just did a fantastic job in cinematically re-inventing two of Batman's rogues. One of which was already seen as a very classic, popular performance. The other one which was originally in Schumacher garbage.

We need a better take on Selina Kyle. Boil it down, what is Selina Kyle? She's basically a strong parallel to Batman. No stupid cat resurrections. She's a girl, very much like Batman but instead she commits crime and steals. And she's doing this at a time where Batman is seen as a criminal. That pushes the parallel further.

Talia Al Ghul. Why not? We got Ra's already. Rachel is GONE, thank God. So why can't there be another female love interest. Talia's interesting because she seems to always embrace and understand Bruce's true nature, his personality. Now its tricky with the Lazarus pit and all, but I still see no reason not to try stuff with Talia. I really wished we got something with Talia at the outset. Ra's had a wife admittedly, there's no reason to think he had zero offspring.

Bane's a little tricky. I like Bane a lot. And not the Schumacher crap Bane. Knightfall Bane. Bane who was a freaking evil genius and systematically destroyed Bats mentally and physically. A character who calculatedly did what no super villain could never do to Bats for years. The problem is, I don't see where he could be fit in with a storyline after the second movie. A lot would need to change to better utilize Bane IMHO.

I'm not sure I like the Riddler because after the Joker it would feel like a downgrade. Not saying you could never do Riddler, but something else you know. Or maybe have Riddler there as another subplot.

Now while this has no chance of happening, long shot totally unthinkable impossible idea. Superman comes to Gotham to bring Batman to justice . LOL

So far, I like the Catwoman idea the best. We need a real, legitimate version of Catwoman this time. I still can't get over WB doing that movie, goodness.

 

[Gianakin_]

^Agreed, Vile.

With the events of TDK, Batman is in a place where the writers can bring him in line with what we know from the comics. The TDK finale gave us in reality a reset of Batman, but also gave us the luxury of not erasing his origin and past events that make him who his is now. It really is a perfect opportunity.

 

[RakuMon]

I posted this in the Black Mask thread:

I also like the idea of Roman Sionis in the next Bat flick, but I wouldn’t make him a mob boss. I’d stick with the wealthy, corporate CEO angle though. In my sequel, Sionis, the young head of Sionis Holdings, is very similar to Bruce Wayne: he’s young, handsome, and filthy rich. Though they are contemporaries, they aren’t the best of friends. Unlike Bruce though, Roman is known in the press as a kind-hearted philanthropist. He donates millions of dollars to charities across the city. As the movie opens, Sionis has just invested heavily in Gotham’s downtrodden East End section. In fact, he recently poured millions of dollars into a battered women’s shelter that’s run by Dr. Leslie Thompkins. What the public doesn’t know, however, is that Sionis has a dark side, a very twisted dark side. There has been a series of abductions of young women in recent weeks. These crimes have been going on for years (it’s one of GCPD’s cold cases) but the frequency of these occurrences has increased. Women who have survived these abductions in the past have told horrific stories of torture and rape. But the only identifiable characteristic they can remember is that “he wore a black mask.”

It turns out that Roman Sionis has a sadistic fetish for torture. His latest victim is a young social worker at the East End Battered Women’s shelter named Maggie Kyle. Needless to say, Sionis gets outed by the Batman but he also invites the wrath of Maggie’s sister, Selina, a professional cat burglar.


I'd also have Oswald Cobblepot as an effete arms dealer with a thing for umbrellas (they don't have to be trick umbrellas, though I do envision a scene in which his thugs are torturing a guy and Cobblepot comes in and stabs the tip of his umbrella through the guy's hand or something.) He enters the picture trying to sell illegal guns to Alberto Falcone (who's trying to retake the reins of his uncle's crime operation but is also obviously scared to death of something or someone). When Cobblepot sees how incompetent Alberto is, he decides to fill the power vacuum himself.

All of this is going on while someone is mysteriously assassinating the remaining members of the Falcone and Maroni families. People like Johnny Viti and Sofia Gigante are found dead. The murder weapon? A .22 caliber pistol.

 

[MaJiN]

In Dark Knight you have Bats retreating into the shadows and accepting the sins of the mortals. We need to see those affects. We need to see Batman dealing with being one of the bad guys and heavies. We also need to see the new, fully fledged bat cave, which will be Bruce's sanctum. There were touches of this in Dark Knight. Where Bruce constantly retreats to the underground temporary base for most of his time. But now we need to see Bruce using the completed bat cave as his new home.

I think there are a number of ways they could go that could work.

Catwoman's a really good option. Why not? Nolan and co. just did a fantastic job in cinematically re-inventing two of Batman's rogues. One of which was already seen as a very classic, popular performance. The other one which was originally in Schumacher garbage.

We need a better take on Selina Kyle. Boil it down, what is Selina Kyle? She's basically a strong parallel to Batman. No stupid cat resurrections. She's a girl, very much like Batman but instead she commits crime and steals. And she's doing this at a time where Batman is seen as a criminal. That pushes the parallel further.

Talia Al Ghul. Why not? We got Ra's already. Rachel is GONE, thank God. So why can't there be another female love interest. Talia's interesting because she seems to always embrace and understand Bruce's true nature, his personality. Now its tricky with the Lazarus pit and all, but I still see no reason not to try stuff with Talia. I really wished we got something with Talia at the outset. Ra's had a wife admittedly, there's no reason to think he had zero offspring.

Bane's a little tricky. I like Bane a lot. And not the Schumacher crap Bane. Knightfall Bane. Bane who was a freaking evil genius and systematically destroyed Bats mentally and physically. A character who calculatedly did what no super villain could never do to Bats for years. The problem is, I don't see where he could be fit in with a storyline after the second movie. A lot would need to change to better utilize Bane IMHO.

I'm not sure I like the Riddler because after the Joker it would feel like a downgrade. Not saying you could never do Riddler, but something else you know. Or maybe have Riddler there as another subplot.

Now while this has no chance of happening, long shot totally unthinkable impossible idea. Superman comes to Gotham to bring Batman to justice . LOL

So far, I like the Catwoman idea the best. We need a real, legitimate version of Catwoman this time. I still can't get over WB doing that movie, goodness.

I like Catwoman as the compulsive thief. Someone who can't help but pick your pocket. As much as I like Bane, I don't think Nolan's too crazy about that type of character. And even though he said that the Penguin is "far fetched" I think Penguin is the most eligible to be in the Nolanverse. It's almost like you can just see it coming.

 

[Shane Diesel]

The way I see it. Nolan's movies are essentially about Batman becoming the Batman that we know today. So the third movie has to continue off of that. A third movie can't just suddenly jump to being THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. A third movie would have to put Batman on a path that would more than likely bring us to DKR.

In Dark Knight you have Bats retreating into the shadows and accepting the sins of the mortals. We need to see those affects. We need to see Batman dealing with being one of the bad guys and heavies. We also need to see the new, fully fledged bat cave, which will be Bruce's sanctum. There were touches of this in Dark Knight. Where Bruce constantly retreats to the underground temporary base for most of his time. But now we need to see Bruce using the completed bat cave as his new home.

I think there are a number of ways they could go that could work.

Catwoman's a really good option. Why not? Nolan and co. just did a fantastic job in cinematically re-inventing two of Batman's rogues. One of which was already seen as a very classic, popular performance. The other one which was originally in Schumacher garbage.

We need a better take on Selina Kyle. Boil it down, what is Selina Kyle? She's basically a strong parallel to Batman. No stupid cat resurrections. She's a girl, very much like Batman but instead she commits crime and steals. And she's doing this at a time where Batman is seen as a criminal. That pushes the parallel further.

Talia Al Ghul. Why not? We got Ra's already. Rachel is GONE, thank God. So why can't there be another female love interest. Talia's interesting because she seems to always embrace and understand Bruce's true nature, his personality. Now its tricky with the Lazarus pit and all, but I still see no reason not to try stuff with Talia. I really wished we got something with Talia at the outset. Ra's had a wife admittedly, there's no reason to think he had zero offspring.

Bane's a little tricky. I like Bane a lot. And not the Schumacher crap Bane. Knightfall Bane. Bane who was a freaking evil genius and systematically destroyed Bats mentally and physically. A character who calculatedly did what no super villain could never do to Bats for years. The problem is, I don't see where he could be fit in with a storyline after the second movie. A lot would need to change to better utilize Bane IMHO.

I'm not sure I like the Riddler because after the Joker it would feel like a downgrade. Not saying you could never do Riddler, but something else you know. Or maybe have Riddler there as another subplot.

Now while this has no chance of happening, long shot totally unthinkable impossible idea. Superman comes to Gotham to bring Batman to justice . LOL

So far, I like the Catwoman idea the best. We need a real, legitimate version of Catwoman this time. I still can't get over WB doing that movie, goodness.

Damn that was brilliant.

 

["V"]

I think that a third has opened up some very interesting possibilities. Batman's task is even harder now and he's not only got the villains gunning for him, but the cops and pretty much the entire Gotham public.

Now the mob is all but obliterated we could see more 'freaks' stepping into the breach; Penguin and Black Mask immediately spring to mind. They could start an arms trade that could tie into the escalating fear of the citizens who feel unprotected without Harvey Dent and an apparently muderous Batman, so they buy weapons to protect themselves and their families.

I'd like to see the copycat Batmen angle being explored again; perhaps criminals or blood thirsty citizens who now see Batman as a symbol of death and take his appearance to carry out crime. You could tie this into the public's fear of Batman and have them armed to the teeth and killing any copycat that see believing them to be the real Bat.

I think we could see Bruce Wayne sidelined more in this film; what is there left for him now Rachel is dead? He saw Harvey Dent as his way out of having to be Batman, and he saw Rachel as what would be there for him if he did. With both of them now gone there is nothing to stop him from being Batman. They could have him literally dwelling in the batcave for the majority of the film in the suit.

Gordon's going to be really conflicted in this one as well. I wonder if he'll be sabotaging the department's manhunts for Batman, trying to run them into dead ends.

Then there is Reese - what will become of him?

Now I've said that there will probably be nothing like that in the next film! I'm sure Nolan will get something great and very intriguing!

 

[ShadowBoxing]

i'd like to hear ideas about how you could adapt DKR outside of the context of the Cold War and the 1980's.

Kinda of like my second idea, take elements of DKR and "No Man's Land". "No Man's Land" is just an excellent choice on so many levels. First of all the earthquake provides a dystopian setting that even Batman has no power against. Secondly it draws upon a topical issue: the environment and shortage of resources.

 

[returntovoid]

I definitely think Batman should use the Matches Malone identity to escape the GCPD in the third film.

 

[The Demon's Head]

The third movie is the freaks' time to shine. I'd like to see Riddler as the main villain, manipulating the freaks to work for him in order to break Batman, like he did in Hush. I'd also like to see Boss Thorne as one of the few mobsters left.

 

[returntovoid]

The third movie is the freaks' time to shine. I'd like to see Riddler as the main villain, manipulating the freaks to work for him in order to break Batman, like he did in Hush. I'd also like to see Boss Thorne as one of the few mobsters left.

I think Riddler should manipulate Scarecrow to do his work and if Two-Face doesn't return, then I think they should introduce Hush or The Penguin.

 

[The Demon's Head]

I think Riddler should manipulate Scarecrow to do his work and if Two-Face doesn't return, then I think they should introduce Hush or Black Mask.

I'd love to see Crane and Nigma working together, manipulating the likes of The Mad Hatter and Zsasz. Black Mask doesn't seem like a strong enough villain. His stories are preety bland.

 

[TheVileOne]

The problem is that there's no way they can top this movie. Kind of like Spider-man 3 after Spider-man 2. Spider-man 2 was the peak of the franchise.

There's no way Dark Knight can be surpassed, it will be one of a kind and the true standout of the franchise.

Ultimatum blew Supremacy away, but that was different, it was like each movie built off the other for the Bourne films. If Damon and Greengrass do another one, essentially Greengrass's Bourne trilogy, not sure if it could be as good as the second one.

I mean Nolan did this movie not really planning to do a third. So it was like he left it all out on the floor for this one. But I hope he does it because I think the third movie would basically be the end of this early Batman story he's created. The end of the third movie is Batman becoming the current Batman.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

There's no way Dark Knight can be surpassed, it will be one of a kind and the true standout of the franchise.

It's not that they can't top it, sure they can. It's a matter of direction. Sure, you're never going to make a villain as interesting and appealing as the Joker by that particular standard. So the idea of an "agent of chaos", or some freak villain is probably more or less off the table. You probably don't want to do a story that features a lot of stuff blowing up and catching fire because TDK pretty much covered that. You can, however, do something else. A blackout, an earthquake, an uprising, a purely physical threat, a character who knows Batman's true identity and wants to expose it, someone with a personal grudge against Bruce Wayne. These are things, inspired from the comics, which have yet to really surface in the comics and could potentially be just as good, if not better, than TDK. There are a lot of maxi-crossovers like "War Games" and "No Man's Land" that would make for good starting points. It's all a matter of adapting them in such a way that it's not simply rehashing covered ground.

 

[jmc]

^ Very true, you can't just redo what's been done, otherwise inevitably the film won't be better than the previous one, you have to do something different and with BB3 I think a total 180 degree turn is needed for the threat to give the film the best chance of succeeding not only as the third part of a trilogy but also work as a stand alone film in and of itself. The Riddler fits into that 180 degree turn, he is more of a psychological bad guy, he play's with people's minds, instead of attacking people from the outside as the Joker did, he attacks them within. It's an interesting concept.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

^ Very true, you can't just redo what's been done, otherwise inevitably the film won't be better than the previous one, you have to do something different and with BB3 I think a total 180 degree turn is needed for the threat to give the film the best chance of succeeding not only as the third part of a trilogy but also work as a stand alone film in and of itself. The Riddler fits into that 180 degree turn, he is more of a psychological bad guy, he play's with people's minds, instead of attacking people from the outside as the Joker did, he attacks them within. It's an interesting concept.

I think the idea of "Batman R.I.P"; a collective group (perhaps in this case of the Riddler, Talia and maybe Bane) all destroying Batman through knowledge of his identity, is interesting.

You could have Talia simply be Bruce's girlfriend, and as the movie progresses you have some very personal attacks made on him. The attacks get worse and worse, chipping away at him both mentally (The Riddler) and physically (Bane). In the end we could find out this new "girlfriend" is in fact Talia Al Ghul who has concocted an elaborate scheme for revenge.

 

[The Chris]

One thing I've noticed about these third superhero films is that they change tone pretty drastically. X-Men 3, Superman III, and Spider-Man 3 (still love it) were all goofier and darker at the same time, Blade 3 had a dude cracking jokes non-stop, Batman forever had multiple personalities. If Batman 3 stays consistant with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight's tone and truly feels like the part three they deserve, I think we'll be fine. At least that's one step to being fine.