The Dark Knight Rises IESB Exclusive: Third BATMAN Film in Script Stage

[Steelsheen]

I disagree. Its a business. AMC threatened Matt Weiner by publicly announcing it was searching for a new show runner when Weiner was playing hardball with negotiations last fall. Mad Men is the best thing that ever happened to AMC. Its Weiner's baby. Its won multiple awards in 2 seasons and is the golden boy of critics. Yet, they were willing to replace him b/c at the end of the day its business.

Fortunately WB and Nolan seem to be on the same page when it comes to Batman. But I have no doubt in my mind that WB would risk the fallout if for some reason a deal could not be reached securing Nolan to a third Batman film. At the end of the day its business. And if you think WB will just shelve a third Batman film after it made close to a Billion worldwide simply b/c Nolan refused to do it, then I laugh hystericall at your naivity.

i never said that WB will shelve Batman 3 if Nolan says no. any businessman worth his salt knows that you dont abandon a project if one player leaves. but Nolan isnt leaving, he has not said no. he simply hasnt signed up yet. his reason may/ may not be a negotiating tactic (for what i sure would like to know). and speaking about playing hardball WB may have played that hand already-- there was a rumor that went out prior to TDK's release that they're looking for another director in case Nolan doesnt sign up for the third. that rumor came out shortly after the discord between WB and Nolan over JL leaked out. if you're a regular of the TDK and JL forums (was) you'd know this very well. if not do some digging around, the threads exists.

then of course TDK came out, became the 2nd highest grossing domestic movie of all time, and now WB is being real nice to Nolan, giving him "space" and "will only discuss the third installment when Nolan is ready to talk about it." in the meantime, JL was promptly shut down in Australia and everyone involved sent packing.

i know at the end of the day its all a business, but WB already played hardball with Nolan and lost. i think we should all be thankful that Nolan isnt an SOB and leave everybody in the dust. ultimately Nolan wants to make Batman 3-- the perfectionist in him wont let him hand the reins over to anybody else. but at least this time he's got the upper hand and will make the final movie to his Batman opus exactly how he wants it. WB will-- and already is-- towing the line.

Does anyone remember when it was announced that Nolan's next film after Batman Begins was going to be The Prestige?

It might be useful knowledge...?

hrrmn.... couldnt quite recall the month, but i remember it was shortly before/ during the release of BB. i remembered it so because first thing i thought was that Wolverine is joining Batman and Alfred

 

[Charlie The Red]

ImdbPro lists the movie "Untitled Batman Project" as being pitched by Nolan, with a 2011 release.

It also lists "The Prisoner" as being scheduled for 2012.

 

[ClownPrince79]

Very cool, if this is indeed true, but I caution that WB or rather Chris Nolan have a larger challenge ahead of them, and we all thought bringing Joker into the Nolan-verse was going to be hard.

They have to deal with the now astronomical expectations that TDK has created for the films (and very much deserved btw)

I suggest or rather hope the story makes Batman the star again, the great thing about Begins was that we all saw new sides to Batman, in TDK he was like most said "..Just Batman, good but expected."

Summary:

1. More Batman (Cave, Wayne Manor, Batmobile) 2. Of course the kick-ass villian 3. Last but not least we will need a Joker reference, even if it's Batman passing his cell in Arkham... ala TAS.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Does anyone remember when it was announced that Nolan's next film after Batman Begins was going to be The Prestige?

It might be useful knowledge...?

The Prestige was first announced back in 2003.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=story&articleid=VR1117884751&categoryid=13&cs=1


Bale and Jackman were announced as the leads in October 2005. Principle photography started in January and ended in April of 2006.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117930078.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1&p=0

 

[Batman137]

Does anyone remember when it was announced that Nolan's next film after Batman Begins was going to be The Prestige?

It might be useful knowledge...?

When was the dark knight announced? That could be good knowledge. BTW it's good to see some hype back on here

 

[The Jester]

Saying that fanboys crack me up is overreacting to you? Your name is Jester. Why don't you emulate it and lighten up pal. I found it hilarious how you broke down my reply line by line when I wasn't saying much of anything in the first place. Like I said, you fanboys crack me up. t:

Then my mission as a Jester succeeded

 

[Anita18]

I suggest or rather hope the story makes Batman the star again, the great thing about Begins was that we all saw new sides to Batman, in TDK he was like most said "..Just Batman, good but expected."

I disagree - Joker is certainly showy, and the most crap happens to Dent, but the more I watch TDK the more I feel for Bruce, and the more I believe this is actually Batman's story. After seeing it the first time, I wrote in my first-impressions review: "If you are a Batman fan, you will love this film, because he gets to do everything we always wanted to see him do."

When was the dark knight announced? That could be good knowledge. BTW it's good to see some hype back on here

TDK was announced the same day Heath Ledger was announced, on July 31, 2006.

 

[MessyPandas]

Don't kid yourself. Its always about money. The reason why WB is so gung ho with this dark approach is b/c B&R was an absolute disaster that was purely attributable to a creative direction that no one liked. They expected Begins to be a moderate success b/c of the baggage from the previous film. Now that people have resoundingly embraced the dark approach to Batman, WB is going to be the biggest supporter of everything dark and adopt other franchies in a similar vein which was confirmed by Robinov's comments.

When it comes to corporate entities they are in the business to make money. If something makes money they will follow it regardless of what the true fans think. Its not about faith, its about the results. That's what shareholders are interested in. You can bet the farm if B&R made boatloads of money, we would have seen 3 more sequels in the same campy tone. The epiphany WB had wasn't about being true to the comic roots, it was about a business plan that went horribly wrong in 1997 and the decision to go in the opposite direction with Chris Nolan b/c that was the only path they saw as viable for a franchise as potentially profitable as Batman. Just be glad that we the fans are lucky the stars aligned up just right and the Studio, director, and creative direction of the film are all going in the same direction. This type of event rarely happens and we should be glad it happened to Batman.

Thanks for reminding me that Warners is a company and they interested in making money. You make a good case of the straw man argument, building up a flawed misrepresentation only to knock it down. Except i wasn't ignoring that in my comment, i just didn't focus on it. Of course Warner's is interested in striking while the irons hot, but they are also know all too well the monetary benefits that Nolan and Co will bring to the Batman franchise should they make a third. And you can bet they will hold out the absolute longest they can for him to return. What would be the use in stinking up the franchise with another flimsy entry and putting the series on the back burner for another 10 years?

 

[Cunning Stunts]

Very cool, if this is indeed true, but I caution that WB or rather Chris Nolan have a larger challenge ahead of them, and we all thought bringing Joker into the Nolan-verse was going to be hard.

They have to deal with the now astronomical expectations that TDK has created for the films (and very much deserved btw)

I suggest or rather hope the story makes Batman the star again, the great thing about Begins was that we all saw new sides to Batman, in TDK he was like most said "..Just Batman, good but expected."

I do agree that Batman SHOULD be the central focus in the next film... I don't think that he necessarily wasn't the central focus in TDK (but I do realize a lot of focus was placed elsewhere as well), but I firmly believe that what has made Batman so awesome and popular in his entire 7-decade career is his incredible cast around him (sidekicks, allies, and villains alike). I think he has more of an advantage pertaining to this matter than any other superhero does (where he has such a large and amazing cast around him, but he is ultimately what makes or breaks the comics or movies).

Batman is kind of like what a great Quarterback is to a football team... Sure, you could win without one, but having a great QB at the helm of the team makes the game THAT much more fun and exciting, and can be the biggest dealbreaker when it comes to ultimately succeeding. However, the opposite also applies here... The most amazing quarterback wouldn't win the game in a 1-on-11 matchup against any defense... Or an O-Line that can't block, a terrible RB, WRs that can't catch worth a damn, etc....

Batman's got a great group of villains and heroes around him that can make for great stories, but what ties all of them together and makes them so much more involving and interesting is Batman... But bringing in some friends and villains and keeping them as such a large particular focus in the films is what will help make Batman even more fun to watch and, ultimately, take the villain down.

 

[Rolf]

Don't kid yourself. Its always about money. The reason why WB is so gung ho with this dark approach is b/c B&R was an absolute disaster that was purely attributable to a creative direction that no one liked. They expected Begins to be a moderate success b/c of the baggage from the previous film. Now that people have resoundingly embraced the dark approach to Batman, WB is going to be the biggest supporter of everything dark and adopt other franchies in a similar vein which was confirmed by Robinov's comments.

When it comes to corporate entities they are in the business to make money. If something makes money they will follow it regardless of what the true fans think. Its not about faith, its about the results. That's what shareholders are interested in. You can bet the farm if B&R made boatloads of money, we would have seen 3 more sequels in the same campy tone. The epiphany WB had wasn't about being true to the comic roots, it was about a business plan that went horribly wrong in 1997 and the decision to go in the opposite direction with Chris Nolan b/c that was the only path they saw as viable for a franchise as potentially profitable as Batman. Just be glad that we the fans are lucky the stars aligned up just right and the Studio, director, and creative direction of the film are all going in the same direction. This type of event rarely happens and we should be glad it happened to Batman.

This is fairly true...

"All they care about is Money!"

Warner Bros just seems incapable of making it's own decisions in this area, TDK makes lots of money, so they make all their movies like TDK, they follow the example of TDK and apply it to movies which don't need it.

Superman does not need to be dark to be succsessful, Batman does, Nolan's appraoch was so well recieved is because it fit the charecter so well, not because it was dark.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

So because they're making Superman darker, WB is making all of their other movies darker too?

 

[Rolf]

So because they're making Superman darker, WB is making all of their other movies darker too?

Apparantly, all their superhero movies at least.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

I was aware of that... But that's just (maximum, at the moment) four movies. So what? The darker direction worked for Batman, so they're trying it on other superheroes. In my opinion, it's less of "trying to be like Nolan" and more of "trying NOT to be like Schumacher."

 

[BH/HHH]

Looking forward to finding out who the villain/s are and what suprises Nolan will throw at us as he did with his two previous Batman movies.

 

[Changeling]

I hope its like Black Mask, Riddler, Catwoman, or and Mad Hatter. Not all of those villains, but Rachel needs a replacement so I say it's a safe bet that we'll get Selina Kyle..
And EVERYONE wants Riddler for the third one...Then we need a second major villain that parallels Two-Face and Joker in TDK, so I say we throw in Black Mask. He could start to replace Maroni, and it'll show how the freaks are taking over Gotham's mob/criminal underworld. Then for a Zsasz type character, throw in Mad Hatter to boost the creepiness factor. There Nolans. Youve already got yourselves an outline! GOOD LUCK!

 

[thedrizzle59]

this is my script so far for the third batman film. hope it works.
file:///C:/Users/Admin/Desktop/warongotham.zip

nvm sorry. i dont think my link works. anyway if you want to read it just PM me. i used final draft so idk if you'll need it too. I just saved a copy in pdf form, so adobe reader will be fine too.

 

[BaleISBatman4ev]

Very cool, if this is indeed true, but I caution that WB or rather Chris Nolan have a larger challenge ahead of them, and we all thought bringing Joker into the Nolan-verse was going to be hard.

They have to deal with the now astronomical expectations that TDK has created for the films (and very much deserved btw)

I suggest or rather hope the story makes Batman the star again, the great thing about Begins was that we all saw new sides to Batman, in TDK he was like most said "..Just Batman, good but expected."

Summary:

1. More Batman (Cave, Wayne Manor, Batmobile) 2. Of course the kick-ass villian 3. Last but not least we will need a Joker reference, even if it's Batman passing his cell in Arkham... ala TAS.

I Beg to differ! In Begins he was more of a regular hero doing what was expected. TDK completely elevated Batman to a whole new level of heroism making choices no one could have expected a hero to make. We learned how far batman would push the law and ethical boundaries, how physical he could get without murdering, and self sacrifice. Begins showed the birth of a hero and TDK completely made him a much more complex hero.

One thing i might agree with you on is that if anyone got a back seat in TDK it was Bruce Wayne, he was featured a lot more in Begins where as TDK Batman was the prevalent thread of the wayne character!

I fully expect B3 to explore new elements of Batman as well as Bruce.

 

[Rolf]

I was aware of that... But that's just (maximum, at the moment) four movies. So what? The darker direction worked for Batman, so they're trying it on other superheroes. In my opinion, it's less of "trying to be like Nolan" and more of "trying NOT to be like Schumacher."

Not really, I think Warner is fairly confidant they have moved away from Schumacher, now they are suffering a disorder many movie studios suffer from... Milking the cash cow. And whenever they do that, fans are useually treated to mediocre cash-ins.

We must remember that it is not useually the Director who causes movies to fail, it is the studio that starts pushing all the wrong buttons. It was Warner who put Schumacher in charged last time and Sam Rami probably would'nt have messed up Venom if he wasnt forced to include him by Marvel.

And lets not forget, it was also the rampant fan demand to include things the director did not want to include in the first place that led to Topher Grace's Venom. As fans I suggest we be as respectful of Nolan as Warner claims to be right now.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Nolan wouldn't make the same mistakes Raimi made. If the studio started getting too pushy, Nolan would probably tell em to take a running jump. I don't think he is the kinda director who would compromise to suits who know nothing about making movies.

 

[Rolf]

Nolan wouldn't make the same mistakes Raimi made. If the studio started getting too pushy, Nolan would probably tell em to take a running jump. I don't think he is the kinda director who would compromise to suits who know nothing about making movies.

If Nolan did that, they would probably fire him and a new Schumacher would come along to ruin everything.

Fortunately however, the fan demand for charaters Nolan would not want to use seems pretty low at the moment, now that the Joker and the Two-Face have appeared there are not many charecters that have the same overwhelming demand that Venom had for SM 3, so it seems like Nolan will be able to use (And more importantly NOT use) any charecter he wants.

 

[Alien Anal]

i hope we see more of batman trying his hardest to solve the crime problem in gotham, i want him working over time and actually see it, make it look like its actually a hard job being a normal man in a costume.

 

[Paradoxium]

Nolan wouldn't make the same mistakes Raimi made. If the studio started getting too pushy, Nolan would probably tell em to take a running jump. I don't think he is the kinda director who would compromise to suits who know nothing about making movies.

Sure he did. See Rachel Dawes, PG-13 rating and the "action packed" BB ending. He even acknowledged as such. Good artists can work and improvise around constraints.

 

[Steelsheen]

you know it is a curious thing, that with all of Nolan's talent in writing and directing, not to mention his amazing decision-making skills, he'd go cast someone like Katie Holmes

 

[Carmine Falcone]

you know it is a curious thing, that with all of Nolan's talent in writing and directing, not to mention his amazing decision-making skills, he'd go cast someone like Katie Holmes

Yeah...but you know.....That huge casting mistake balances out if you place the absolutely genius casting of David Bowie in The Prestige at the other side of the scales.

 

[Anita18]

Yeah...but you know.....That huge casting mistake balances out if you place the absolutely genius casting of David Bowie in The Prestige at the other side of the scales.

Scarlett Johansson was also pretty useless, although not to the point of annoyance.

Heath was definitely a genius call.