New Dierection with the inevitable Reboot

One thing they should do is have a Catwoman with a way better costume than the one they had in TDKR. She should actually have a "Catwoman" costume. And she should carry around a whip.

They should go with something like this.



The Tumbler was good but Batman should actually have a "Batmobile" this time. Something like this,



or this

.

And Joker should be naturally pale with a more grotesque look like the concept designs for Joker in The Dark Knight. That would be the only way they could top TDK version.

 

I say get rid of realism for one. Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy deserve justice

 

Or at the very least nudge the franchise into something that isn't anchored by "realism" at least as much as it pertains presently. I'd probably go with something that at least visually mixes elements of the Arkham games and DCUO, Alex Ross, and the newer comics.

Like a Batsuit of this design to veer away from the black body armor everybody hates so much, but with the same kind of construction as Cap's suit in "The Avengers", so that he can actually move in it and yet it's clear to the audience he's wearing some form of protection:


A Batmobile more like this (although I'd be tempted to add flight- and submersible capability, so that the movie doesn't come off as an excuse to sell one useless Bat-vehicle toy after another):


A more hellish Gotham with a slight touch of sci-fi dystopia akin to Mad Max or Robocop:

 

As for other influences, I like this version of Alex Ross' Joker, simply because it reminds me the most of Conrad "The Man Who Laughs" Veidt:


As well as this version of Catwoman:


And Ross' hanged-man Scarecrow I love because IMO it reminds me of a good old-fashioned slasher-movie killer:


From the Arkham games, I'd definitely port over some version of the Penguin, just for the sake of for the first time having a live-action Penguin who actually LOOKS like a crime boss in the worst city of the world:


I DO like the TDK-influenced Two-Face design...I always envisioned that Harvey's disfigurement should look gorier than the crazy warped green skin of the comics:


I like the modified-spacesuit look of Freeze, too:


If it can be done without looking silly (a la the Orion chick in Abram's "Trek"), I wouldn't mind seeing the green-skinned Ivy:


I wanna see Zsasz' scars, too:

 

We've gotten ...

Stylized / Gothic / Fairy Tale / Retro : Batman 1989, Batman Returns

Comic Booky / Colorful / Whimsical: Batman Forever, Batman and Robin

Serious / Realism / Gritty / Contemporary: BEGINS, TDK, RISES

I say we get a 1960's esque comedy take on the character

 

Eh...I don't know if the comedic Batman can really work in live-action anymore. In a way, "Batman & Robin" already tried it (and considering how much darker the comics actually are in comparison even back in 1997, I don't know how "comic booky" one can really consider B&R to be - I never saw Bane treated like a monosyllabic idiot and Tim Drake running around with nipples on his costume, myself). As it is, Funny Batman can barely be made to work in animation anymore - although to be fair I think B:TB&TB got a bad shake from the start from fans who took one look at the Sprang-influenced art style and had a mass reaction of "AAAAH!!! KILL IT!!! KILL IT!!!" I definitely wouldn't mind a Batman movie that has a little more fun with itself, though, a la B:TAS, just for the sake of getting SOME distance from Nolan's films.

That having been said, though, there is at least ONE concession I'd make to the legacy of Adam West: I've always liked the whole "urban legend" aspect of Batman's modus operandi, and if GCPD Headquarters has a Bat-Signal installed on its roof that doesn't make him much of an urban legend, at least to me anyway. Therefore, I'd be inclined to have Batman contact Gordon and vice-versa via a special cell-phone modified by Bats, untraceable, that flashes red whenever operated...yes, the Batphone (in fact this was done in the TNBA tie-in comic - I forget the title at the moment - during a multi-issue arc when Penguin had become mayor, fired Gordon and put a warrant out for Batman; Bats used Bullock as his informant/blunt instrument by contacting him with a red cell phone).

And that ties into why I'd want the Batmobile to fly and travel at/under sea...in addition to dispensing with the need for a Batplane or Batboat at least narratively (I say just let Mattel do whatever they want), I'd like to see the car portrayed with something of an edge that makes it seem supernatural, like it appears to have a mind of its own to the various figures of the underworld who cross paths with it. Toss in the usual remote-control apparatus, and what you'd have is a big black scary-looking car that, without having Batman behind the wheel, can either chase you down on the highway, hunt you down from the sky, or pursue you all the way out to the open sea...as if it's this force in and of itself that's as relentless as its owner and can't be stopped until it's got you.