The Dark Knight Rises Dream Batman Film

[returntovoid]

If you could have your own Batman film series.

How would it be done? who would you cast? what would the visual style be? what genres would you incorporate? what would the tone be? how should the Batsuit and Batmobile look? what would be the story? which villains would you use? Etc.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Like B:TAS with some Nolan elements, like the tumbler, the Begins suit, the memory cloth cape, Rachel, Lucious Fox, Bruce training with Ras, etc...
My joker would be a combination of the two. He would centainly have the decayed makeup look though. And his Harley Quinn of course.

On another note, I really liked Rachel as a character even though most of the time she was an annoying *****. Maggie's especially. Katie came off more cute and young. Anyway, i like how Bruce has a childhood friend who helps him mature. The comicbook batman is instantly focused on the mission since his parents' murder. I liked how in BB his childhood was more fleshed out, and that he had a soul searching journey to finally become batman. So that's why i'd keep Rachel in.

Cast: Everybody Nolan has cast already, except i would cast someone else as Rachel and maybe another actor for Alfred. Caine is great but i cant stand how he is towering over Bruce. I'd like a slimmer Alfred (since asking for a man shorter than Bale would make him very very short).

After a few films in the series i would definitely do a Batman/Superman movie similar to Timm's animated one.

 

[returntovoid]

^By the way, Awesome avatar. That was a great scene from Batman Begins, when he hangs upside down and attacks the thug.

 

[Mister H.]

My vision would be similar to Nolan's in that I would aim for heightened realism and steer clear from overt fantasy elements, but I would try to incorporate hints of the mystical and supernatural (much like Batman Begins).

For example, my Joker would have had white skin. I would have gone the same route as Nolan, the "he just is" train of thought, but the mystery around his skin's pallor would have given him an "inhuman" quality. Also, I would have played up Joker's macabre sense of humor a bit more. No hand-buzzers or giant hammers, but just a couple of crime scenes that work as morbid jokes. Say he stabbed a cop to death. He would leave the corpse with his knife pinning a note that read "A stuck pig...get it?" to the cop's chest, or something of that nature. Or maybe instead of blowing up Judge Cirillo's car, he tears her eyeballs out and paints "Justice Is Blind...get it?" on the wall near her corpse with her own blood. I know those aren't PG-13 friendly, but you asked for my dreams, right? I'm not *****ing about Nolan's take on Joker, I loved it, I just would have done it differently.

Now that I've taken a less realistic approach with the Joker, I'm going to take a more realistic approach with Two-Face. His fate was too convenient for me. If there were crooked cops and mobsters who already referred to him as Harvey Two-Face behind his back, and if those same crooked cops and mobsters (and the Joker) were going to conspire to punish Harvey Dent, then I would have had them take him to that warehouse, tie him up, and literally burn half of his face off, transforming him into a real Harvey Two-Face. Again, not PG-13 friendly, but my preferred handling of the Harvey Dent story arc.

I'll stop there before I write a book, but those are the two things I feel the most passionately about, as most everything else Nolan has done with the mythology have been right in my wheelhouse.

 

[Mr. Earle]

^By the way, Awesome avatar. That was a great scene from Batman Begins, when he hangs upside down and attacks the thug.

Thanks a lot!

Mister H, i think that Nolan just couldnt do more violent stuff because of the rating, but he hinted strongly at gory stuff. I'd like a few more jokes out his joker though. The pencil trick was pure genius, but he needed some more. I would definitely give him the abandoned amusement park hideout, no matter how cheesy Nolan or anybody else thinks it would be. TDK's design was too realistic for me.

 

[Mister H.]

Thanks a lot!

Mister H, i think that Nolan just couldnt do more violent stuff because of the rating, but he hinted strongly at gory stuff. I'd like a few more jokes out his joker though. The pencil trick was pure genius, but he needed some more. I would definitely give him the abandoned amusement park hideout, no matter how cheesy Nolan or anybody else thinks it would be. TDK's design was too realistic for me.

I agree that Nolan was forced to work for a PG-13 rating. But in my dream Batman film, anything goes.

The pencil trick was pure genius. I wish we'd have gotten a few more moments like that.

And I also agree about the abandoned amusement park. That would have been a much more interesting climax then the been-there, done-that skyscraper climax. Imagine Batman confronting Ledger's Joker in a hall of mirrors.

 

[Mr. Earle]

The amusement park ending (especially the hall of mirrors) have been done before in comics numerous times, so maybe that's why Nolan didnt do it. But even if the climax happened elsewhere, it could still be the joker's hideout.

 

[Jochimus]

Cast - I dunno who I'd pick. Never very good with that aspect of it.

Visual style - definitely more comics-slanted than either Nolan or Burton, though there'd be a definite influence from those two. I'd also use location shooting whenever possible.

Genres - it depends on the villain, I suppose. Two-Face would probably be more of a psychological drama, whereas Mr. Freeze would be probably more of a 'mad science' sci-fi/horror tale, Ra's Al Ghul would be more of a globe-trotting James Bond-type adventure, Killer Croc would probably be a 'dark house' fright flick set in the sewers, Catwoman would be a sexually-charged 'pursuit' type story, etc. Frankly, none of the movies in terms of subject matter would be particularly kid-friendly, but then I don't think that's ever mattered much with this property, since it's...y'know...Batman.

Tone - Mostly straight, with touches of wry and even macabre humor (especially with the Joker).

Batsuit - A minimal body-armor look more akin to the "Returns" suit than "Begins", to be sure - black cowl, cape, gloves, boots, and bat emblem (no oval); charcoal gray bodysuit; brown/copper belt w/pouches/compartments. Oh, and this time I'd make the ears (Keaton-sized, probably) jut OUT just a hair, not much...but about the same as the JLU design.

Batmobile - Bond-type sleek sports car, jet black, with eerie-glowing headlights, an armored nose, and minimal bat-like flourishes (smaller fins than usual, maybe, but not much else).

Story - The first one would basically be a variation on "Robin's Reckoning": I'd start with Bruce Wayne/Batman capping his first year of operation when the Graysons are killed, with the Batman/Robin relationship forming as more of a sensei/padawan kinship and the Dark Knight essentially trying to rein in a vengeful Dick Grayson from getting himself killed by Tony Zucco. Oh, and I suppose one of the regular Rogues would have to be involved somehow to satisfy WB...just not as the killer of either Bruce or Dick's parents.

Villains - As B:TAS proved IMO, really ANY Bat-villain can be fair game if you do a good job of writing them, though I suppose I'd stick with the more well-known ones. Even the more fantastic villains like Freeze and Croc I think could be made to work somehow.

 

[batman_1989_]

Jon Hamm as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Adam Brody as The Joker
Christian Bale as Dick Grayson/Batman(I'm sorry but his Batman reminds me of Dick's too much)
Jonathan Pryce as Alfred
Hugh Jackman as Harvey Dent/Two Face
Charlize Theron as Selina/Catwoman
Bob Hoskins as Commissioner Loeb
Aaron Eckhart as Lt.Gordon
David Tennant as The Riddler
Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul
Eva Green as Talia
Emily Blunt as Poison Ivy
Kristen Bell as Harley Quinn

Visual Style-something along the lines of BTAS
Batsuit- ff-style suit over padding(armor within the context of the movie of course),classic design
Batmobile-I like Neal Adam's version.Either that of Quitely's one
Tone-again,similar to BTAS

 

[Matt.S99]

Like B:TAS with some Nolan elements, like the tumbler, the Begins suit, the memory cloth cape, Rachel, Lucious Fox, Bruce training with Ras, etc...
My joker would be a combination of the two. He would centainly have the decayed makeup look though. And his Harley Quinn of course.

On another note, I really liked Rachel as a character even though most of the time she was an annoying *****. Maggie's especially. Katie came off more cute and young. Anyway, i like how Bruce has a childhood friend who helps him mature. The comicbook batman is instantly focused on the mission since his parents' murder. I liked how in BB his childhood was more fleshed out, and that he had a soul searching journey to finally become batman. So that's why i'd keep Rachel in.

Cast: Everybody Nolan has cast already, except i would cast someone else as Rachel and maybe another actor for Alfred. Caine is great but i cant stand how he is towering over Bruce. I'd like a slimmer Alfred (since asking for a man shorter than Bale would make him very very short).

After a few films in the series i would definitely do a Batman/Superman movie similar to Timm's animated one.

Really? You would keep the tumbler? it isnt terrible, but it really isnt a ''batmobile''

 

[BigSams50]

^ I actually love the tumbler, i know its not a traditional batmobile, but its just badass

 

[Mr. Earle]

Really? You would keep the tumbler? it isnt terrible, but it really isnt a ''batmobile''

It isnt a batmobile? How so?

IMHO its more batmobile than any other i've seen. Why would batman want a sportscar? To get laid? Sure the BTAS batmobile is one sexy looking car, but does it make as much sense? Can it give us equally awesome action scenes?
The tumbler isnt exactly beautiful, but once i saw Begins, i instantly loved it. I mean... it flied on ****ing rooftops!

^ I actually love the tumbler, i know its not a traditional batmobile, but its just badass

I really appreciate Nolan for that. He thinks outside of the box and brings new things to the table. What, only comicbook writers have the privilege of doing it?
And for all the people saying that its not a batmobile because its not a cheesy sportcar with bat-wings, they re wrong.

 

[BigSams50]

The Tumbler was just awesome, i actually hate the batpod because they destroyed the tumbler lol

 

[batman_1989_]

The Tumbler would have suited a DKR movie IMO,not Batman's origins

 

[Boom]

Hero/es:
Bruce Wayne/Batman - Jon Hamm

Supporting Cast:
Doctor Thomas Wayne - Viggo Mortensen
Martha Wayne - Cate Blanchett
Alfred Pennyworth - John Hurt
Doctor Leslie Thompkins - Helen Mirren
Rachel Dawes - Sasha Alexander
Lucius Fox - Don Cheadle
Harvey Dent/Two-Face - Joaquin Phoenix
Inspector Henri Ducard - Geoffrey Rush

Gotham City Police Department - Major Case Division:
Detective Lieutenant Jim Gordon - Gary Oldman
Commissioner Gillian Loeb - Ed Harris
Captain Peter Grogan - David Morse
Detective Sergeant Arnold Flass - Ricky Schroder
Detective Harvey Bullock - Ray Winstone
Detective Renee Montoya - Marisol Nichols
Detective Sarah Essen - Alicia Witt

Gotham City Crime Organizations:
Carmine Falcone - John Noble
Salvatore Maroni - Ray Liotta
Roman Sionis - Peter Sarsgaard
Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin - Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Rogues:
Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow - Cillian Murphy
The Joker - Johnny Depp or Jim Carrey
Edward Nashton/The Riddler - Damian Lewis

Other:
Jeremiah Arkham - James Cromwell
Barbara Gordon - Debra Messing
Gilda Dent - Vera Farmiga
David Hull - Vincent D'Onofrio

 

[Mr. Earle]

I wanted to talk about Jon Hamm that many of you guys keep mentioning for the role of Wayne.
I havent watched anything with Jon Hamm in it, and i just know this dude from you guys and google. He looks great. He looks big (Bale isnt all that tall), and very Waynish and he has that Alec Baldwin 1950ies look. But... He doesnt do it for me. He is manly and all but he should look a bit younger and prettier if you ask me. Maybe for a batman film set in the 50ies like the Shadow.
What do you guys think?

 

[Boom]

At least from my perspective, he's got everything:

-Looks
-Voice
-Talent

Bulk him up a little bit and he'd be perfect. But that's just me.

 

[Mr. Earle]

At least from my perspective, he's got everything:

-Looks
-Voice
-Talent

Bulk him up a little bit and he'd be perfect. But that's just me.

Yeah he looks very good indeed. Its the Balwin 1950ies look that bugs me. I watched a couple of youtube videos of him but and his voice wasnt anything special (but at least he didnt lisp like Bale ). Do you have a youtube video for it?

Anyway, if Bale was a little taller (i mean it shows that he isnt that big) and he didnt lisp, he would be real life Bruce Wayne for me.

 

[ChickenScratch]

I don't really have a whole movie in mind but I would love to see a film that has Bruce on a mission in ninja uniform and with ninja weapons.

 

[Matt.S99]

The Tumbler would have suited a DKR movie IMO,not Batman's origins

^This

It isnt a batmobile? How so?

IMHO its more batmobile than any other i've seen. Why would batman want a sportscar? To get laid? Sure the BTAS batmobile is one sexy looking car, but does it make as much sense? Can it give us equally awesome action scenes?
The tumbler isnt exactly beautiful, but once i saw Begins, i instantly loved it. I mean... it flied on ****ing rooftops!
.

It just looks like a random black tank. Not a Batmobile. Batman doesnt have to have a sportcar, but he should have something a little more sleek and ''batmobile'' like.

 

[Boom]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZiwPQODVvE

He's got the deep charismatic voice that I'd like for Bruce Wayne.

Also, he's best known for his role in Mad Men, which takes place in the 1960's. So if you're finding pictures of him from the show, that might explain it.

 

[Mr. Earle]

My ideal Batman would be like Morrison's and somewhat Nolan's. He would be serious, brooding, scary, focused, obsessed to a certain point, but not crazy or a dick. Morrison is trying to bring back the fun batman and leave the 90ies one behind. Grimdark and hack writers had brought the character to the borders of madness. Think Dr. House but more obnoxious and sometimes even evil towards people.
People have whined that Nolan's Bruce smiles and jokes but they dont get it. Even he should crack a smile every now and then, that doesnt mean that he is happy and not obsessed about his mission. It was pretty obvious in both films that he mostly pretended to have fun and only made some jokes with people he trusted like Alfred and Lucious and still that was mostly due to the fact that they are fun guys and they evoke that.

So i have analyzed how i'd set the tone and which actors i'd like to cast (previous post), so lets move on to the story.

My Dream Batman film series would start like Nolan's BB and TDK and would then move on.
In the third movie i would introduce Robin. Batman is no longer a rookie and he starts training Dick. Catwoman appears. He falls in love with her and tries to rehabilitate her before its too late.
Obviously i would like each of these movies to have a central theme (like fear in Begins and escalation in TDK), so maybe this one would be about Bruce starting to lose himself in Batman and this is why Robin and Catwoman (who later becomes a valuable ally) are necessary. So the theme would be... Family i suppose.

In the fourth film, Dick finally becomes Robin and fights crime along with Batman who is very watchful over his inexperienced apprentice. Metropolis is briefly mentioned in the film.

Superman/Batman movie. If the Superman franchise ever takes off (and with GL and Flash on their way), why not cross pollinate the franchises? A Superman/Batman movie would be amazing to say the least. Each one is the opposite of the other and thus the other's foil. In the end they become friends and come to understand each others' position.

5th Batman movie. Another villain appears, another theme is explored. Should Dick become Nightwing yet or is it too soon? Movie ends with Clark going for a drink in a pub after a long, tiresome day at work. He takes off his tie and his friend Patrick (i chose it because of American Psycho) arrives and sits next to him. Its Bruce in disguise (as Wayne people would recognise him). They share a few jokes ("how are your sons Patrick?", "they are not my sons!") and drink their beer.

And it would go on and on. But i would never introduce Jason Todd, and like BTAS i would ignore he ever existed and move straight to Tim Drake. I dont like the concept of Batgirl, Oracle and Huntress either. If the batfamily consists of half of Gotham whats the ****ing point? Not to mention that with Oracle around there is not much detective work for Batman to do. Oracle can "hack the internet". Yep... She has done it in the comis

 

[Mr. Earle]

^This


It just looks like a random black tank. Not a Batmobile. Batman doesnt have to have a sportcar, but he should have something a little more sleek and ''batmobile'' like.

The batmobile is batman's car. Its form doesnt matter. Its like saying that the current batsymbol isnt the true batsymbol because it lacks the yellow oval. The only character whose suit hasnt changed over the years is Superman. Everybody else's suit, gadgets, weapons, vehicles, and sometimes even the characters themselves have changed over the years keeping up with the times. Try to keep an open mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZiwPQODVvE

He's got the deep charismatic voice that I'd like for Bruce Wayne.

Also, he's best known for his role in Mad Men, which takes place in the 1960's. So if you're finding pictures of him from the show, that might explain it.

Indeed. I keep finding pictures from Madmen (is it any good?).

 

[Matt.S99]

But they still all have a resemblence to each other. They are sleek and they have the bat fins. I don't recall Batman ever having a random tank as his vehicle.(apart from TDKR)

 

[Mr. Earle]

But they still all have a resemblence to each other. They are sleek and they have the bat fins. I don't recall Batman ever having a random tank as his vehicle.(apart from TDKR)

Thats why from the sportscar batmobiles i only liked the BTAS one. It was so subtle, serious, art deco, and robust looking.