Fictional 1990's Post-Burton Bat-Trilogy

[boocherhix]

Hey everyone. I am starting a personal art project depicting 3 posters of a fictional 1990's Batman trilogy if the Schumacher movies had never happened after Tim Burton & Michael Keaton said adios to the Batcave. I am considering putting 2 villains per movie (always a risky move, I know) but I wanted to get opinions on who would "work" best together, story-wise. Continuing the story-lines from Batman & Batman Returns; Joker, Penguin & Catwoman would not be re-used, but perhaps mentioned, etc.


My top 6 choices for Bat-foes are:

1. Two-Face
2. Poison Ivy
3. The Riddler
4. Mr. Freeze
5. Scarecrow
6. Bane


I know those choices may seem "tired" now, but I believe they would not have been back then.

So...Question 1: Which go together best? Whether it be personalities, agendas, etc. For instance, I would have loved to see a story with Two-Face & Poison Ivy similar to the way the Animated Series did. But that is just an idea. Do opposites work best together - like in the case of Poison Ivy & Mr. Freeze? Would their "hot & cold" personas been amazing if done in a great movie instead of the glossy stink-fest we got?

Are there other villains that you would want included in a duo that aren't in my list that would work better with some of the others?

Question 2: What popular or up & coming 1990's actors & actresses would have knocked those roles out of the park? For example, I have always wanted to see Mel Gibson (or maybe Russell Crowe) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Jeff Goldblum as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow & Patrick Stewart as Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze. Others include either Julia Roberts or even Pamela Anderson as Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (YES, Pamela Anderson. She may not be a great actress, but would she have been any worse in the role than Uma Thurman? '90s teenage me would have seen that movie a million times. ). Robin Williams, Kevin Spacey or even a young Edward Norton as Edward Nygma/The Riddler. I don't know who I would cast as Bane - dare I say another wrestler, Bill Goldberg with a possible voice over by Guillermo Del Toro?

Question 3: What '90s director would have made an amazing trilogy? A post-Mission Impossible Brian De Palma? Ridley Scott? Spielberg? Or maybe use a different director for each one?

My plan is to draw up 3 separate Struzan-esque movie posters. Here are samples of other colored pencil work I have done:

Thanx for humoring my post. Any input you have is greatly appreciated!

 

[atomicbattery]

That’s awesome pencil work!

After the general audience was put off by the weirdness of Batman Returns, I’d have asked Richard Donner to direct.
Robin origin.
TwoFace the main villain, with his origin as well.
So you can also have Boss Zucco and Tony (that’s three villains!).

Good luck with your project and have fun!

 

[boocherhix]

Awesome, thank you! I love the idea of a Donner-directed Robin origin story. That movie sounds awesome! The mob angle would be cool to revisit after taking a backseat in Returns. Zucco taking over after Grissom & The Joker dying. Nice.


Thanks again atomicbattery! I will post the finished works here when I finish them if you (or anyone else) is interested...

 

[Herofan]

So...Question 1: Which go together best? Whether it be personalities, agendas, etc.

Two-Face could work pretty well with most others, particularly Mr. Freeze (similar tragic backgrounds), the Riddler (useful with his intellect), and maybe the Scarecrow (his fear toxin a form of brute strength). OTOH I'm not sure Poison Ivy would work well with anyone, too much egomania and also having a strong cause-but maybe Mr. Freeze or Scarecrow if they were out for revenge against the rich or Killer Croc if she saw him as sympathetic & misunderstood. Scarecrow and Riddler could also be interesting.

The Riddler and Bane could be interesting if both were portrayed as geniuses & strong strategists and Riddler as maybe accepting a sub-ruler position or thinking they can be co-rulers.

Question 2: What popular or up & coming 1990's actors & actresses would have knocked those roles out of the park? For example, I have always wanted to see Mel Gibson (or maybe Russell Crowe) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Jeff Goldblum as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow & Patrick Stewart as Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze. Others include either Julia Roberts or even Pamela Anderson as Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (YES, Pamela Anderson. She may not be a great actress, but would she have been any worse in the role than Uma Thurman? '90s teenage me would have seen that movie a million times. ). Robin Williams, Kevin Spacey or even a young Edward Norton as Edward Nygma/The Riddler. I don't know who I would cast as Bane - dare I say another wrestler, Bill Goldberg with a possible voice over by Guillermo Del Toro?

Agreed on Jeff Goldblum as Scarecrow (Christopher Lloyd could also be good) and, by the late '90s, Edward Norton as the Riddler. Kate Winslet could be great as Poison Ivy, maybe Patrick Stewart or Hugo Weaving as Mr. Freeze (though they might have been too Picard and not famous enough, respectively) and Kevin Spacey as Two-Face.

Question 3: What '90s director would have made an amazing trilogy?

Off-the-wall if not crazy but I love the idea of Danny DeVito directing sequels to Burton's films (though hopefully in addition to rather than instead of Matilda).

 

[boocherhix]

Thanks for your input Herofan! Now that I think about it, you make a good point about Poison Ivy. I do like the pairing of her with Killer Croc, that would be interesting. I also really dig the Riddler/Bane genius combo. They could really wear out Batman coming at him from 2 angles.


Oh WOW, yeah never considered Christopher Lloyd as Crane, but is an AWESOME idea. Kate Winslet, too! She never entered my brain, but her redhead Titanic look could certainly transfer to Ivy. Hugo Weaving as Freeze is also a great notion.


I also never considered Danny DeVito. I love Throw Mamma From The Train. It would be really interesting to see what he could've brought to Batman behind the camera.


Thanx again!

 

[boocherhix]

From a friend of mine on Facebook:

1. Poison Ivy - Julia Roberts
2. Two-Face - Tommy Lee Jones (he's the only one I can picture in this role)
3. The Riddler - Mark Hamill or Robin Williams (can't decide)
4. Mr. Freeze - Anthony Hopkins
5. Bane - Sly Stallone or Al Pacino (can't decide)
6. Scarecrow - Kevin Kline

Trilogy Pairings:
Movie 1: Riddler and Scarecrow
Movie 2: Bane and Two-Face
Movie 3: Ivy and Freeze

I think the movie pairings are good because they're all polar opposites. It'd be three people each who hate each other equally, so there would be no alliances during the plots.

I never pictured Sir Anthony as Mr. Freeze, but imagining his... chilly... voice under glass, emotionlessly dispatching corporate execs makes me giddy. t: Mark Hamill would make a great Riddler, despite him already being a great Joker. I thought of Stallone as Bane, but as he proved in Judge Dredd, he wouldn't go a whole film under a mask. Al Pacino, I just... what? Maybe as a voice over, but I can't see him in a tank top busting heads... Kevin Kline is a really interesting choice for Scarecrow. Not the typical skinny creepy guy, but maybe. One of those left-field choices that will take me a while to see.

I'm not sure I like all of his pairings, but I like his notion that polar opposites would work together because the 3(including Batman?) would "hate" each other equally. Double-crossing would ensue, for sure.

 

[Herofan]

I don't like the idea of Julia Roberts as Ivy, she tends to seem too egotistical/conceited (thinking she is the Most Popular, Beloved by Everyone Star) which the character admittedly usually also does but the actress seeming that way generally and to start with would probably be too much and from her Huge-Star-Status she would probably be likely to goofily overplay the part (although she has done a few good roles). Some double-crossing is OK but Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze are probably too obviously-doomed-to-fail or not make much sense to begin with.

For Bane, Antonio Banderas or Ray Liotta could have probably done enough of both bulking up and intensity. Or Arnold, though a stretch, could play him.

 

[David H.]

Sam Raimi was considered to take over for Burton at one point. You could use that for a basis. Bruce Campbell as Two-Face?

 

[boocherhix]

Herofan, I agree. Back in the 90's, after Fatman & Blobin came out, Julia Roberts was my top choice for an Ivy dreamcast, but I'm with you on that opinion. Kinda the same thing with Tom Cruise playing Hal Jordan - not that his star-status would lead to goofiness. The more I have thought about it, I l-o-v-e LOVE the idea of a young Kate Winslet as Poison Ivy. iMuy mucho bueno!

I am very intrigued by Ray Liotta as Bane. That would be very interesting to see. I wonder how he would look all bulked up.

 

[boocherhix]

David H. that would be SO cool!. Though there would undoubtedly be a certain amount of "cheese" with a Raimi Bat-Flick, especially in the 90's. Darkman was cool, but also a bit cheesy. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Bruce Campbell as Two-Face is an insanely good idea! Thanks for the comment!

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Here are samples of other colored pencil work I have done:

Thanx for humoring my post. Any input you have is greatly appreciated!

Your artwork is fantastic!

 

[boocherhix]

Thanx a lot Milk Tray Guy!

Hopefully before too long I will have some work-in-progress piece to post on here...