The Dark Knight Rises Nolan officially signed on for Batman 3 (source included)

[AnorexicBatman]

5 years from now... head of Warner Brothers... Christopher Nolan.... his right hand ... Christian Bale AKA Batman AKA John Connor AKA Stock intelligent badass

 

[The Joker]

This news puts a smile on my face

 

[AnorexicBatman]

I keep having a dream where Nolan is standing in front of a burning stack of money with makeup on his face saying in a grim manner, "This studios... mine now.... It's not about the money... it's about sending a message... to Fox..."

 

[chamber-music]

I keep having a dream where Nolan is standing in front of a burning stack of money with makeup on his face saying in a grim manner, "This studios... mine now.... It's not about the money... it's about sending a message... to Fox..."

I hope that message is fire Tom Rothman

 

[namtaB]

Not surprising. Goyer let the clown out of the box during BB when he mentioned a trilogy. Reports at the time also indicated that WB was interested in creative continuity after the Burton/Schumacher headed Batman films.

These wheels have been set in motion since Nolan approached WB back in 2002 about helming Batman. I think the only real issues to work out now are money, which is definitely at the forefront since TDK's massive returns and acclaim, and what's going to happen after Batman 3.

 

[Batman137]

I think I will wait till Warner Bros Itself or the Hype confirms that Nolan will be back. But this is extremely good news. I just don't know how Nolan can do 2 movies in a span of a year. With Dark Knight, and Prestige he had two years. He will have to be in post production on Inception, and start filming the third Batman. This will be very tough. It's great to get the hype back in swing.

 

[mjbull23]

No great surprise here, although it's great to finally have the confirmation of Nolan returning. As has already been mentioned, the real question now is, what happens after the third installment.

 

[Batman137]

No great surprise here, although it's great to finally have the confirmation of Nolan returning. As has already been mentioned, the real question now is, what happens after the third installment.

No more. End the trilogy and be done with it.

 

[namtaB]

No more. End the trilogy and be done with it.

I would like nothing more than for that to happen. End on a high note. But TDK was a double edged sword. It was blood in the water and WB is a Great White shark. They are going to rape this franchise. They will bury it into the ground before they give up on it. So expect a degradation in quality at some point. It may not happen with Nolan's replacement and the 4th film, but it will happen since WB is a business and they will keep putting out Batman films until its no longer profitable which is usually commensurate with a major downgrade in quality.

 

[Batman137]

Heres what we do: As soon as we get done seeing the third movie we head over to Warner Bros. and strike not to make any more films

 

[8Diagrams(WU)]

I dont really see why people assume Nolan is going to stop at 3 and give up on all the millions of dollars he would make on future installments. This is his pet project afterall.

 

[namtaB]

Heres what we do: As soon as we get done seeing the third movie we head over to Warner Bros. and strike not to make any more films

There is one saving grace. WB has equated dark with success. So they are applying dark to all their comic book movie projects. So I won't expect Schumacher camp in Batman anytime soon.

As far as Nolan coming back. He might, he might not. But when all is said and done with Batman 3, he would have spent almost a decade doing Batman when it all began in 2002. That's a huge amount of time for any creatively driven person to devote to a single entity. Anything more would limit his career from a creative standpoint and if you've read and listened to Nolan you'd know that a key motivating force for him is to do fresh, new things. So I think the third Batman film will unequivocally be his last.

 

[Batman137]

What i am looking forward to is to see what Nolan calls number 3. The Dark Knight was such a great title. Hopefully it dosn't have 3 in the title.

 

[8Diagrams(WU)]

Sure its years of non fulltime work, but you also forget that its also a great deal of money that he cannot get anywhere else. I highly doubt Nolan regrets spending any of this time on Batman considering the cash he has made in only two movies. Nolan makes more money with Bats than with anything else. Letting go of the cash cow and momentum he created so that someone else could cash in would be insane on his behalf.

As far as creativity, I think he is a smart enough man to know that he can do other projects. The batman mythos is wide enough and there are decades worth of source material to continue to tell a story. It doesnt have to be batman all the time and he has a good enough relationship with WB for them to give him room to do whatever he wants.

All Im saying is that he has not said he would do three and stop so I dont see how people can say it is so. There are arguments both ways, but we simply dont know to make certainties either way.

 

[namtaB]

I think he along with his brother, Goyer and Crowley would be insulted to hear its "non full time work." Its not about regrets or money. Its about moving on and expanding his career. In the decade he's spent on Batman he would have done 5 films with only 2 non-Batman films. That's not much at all for a director who's guiding mantra is to do fresh, new things. There's also only so much that can be done with WB. They don't hold all the rights to all the film projects out there and its ludicrous to assume that Nolan would only work on WB's projects. This isn't the age of Jack Warner.

There's a certain pollyanna attitude that fanboys have about Nolan. Oh he's making money or Batman is his pet project. All true but many of you folks give it too much credence in terms of his overall attitude to film making which when taken with a decade's worth of work on Batman make the case very hard that he'll be back for Batman 4.

 

[chamber-music]

I wouldn't mind if after Nolans 3rd Batman movie (which is still Batman early in career) they skipped ahead to an older Batman perhaps 20 years down the same timeline.

 

[Rolf]

Forgive me for not holding my breath, but third movies always seem to fail seemingly regardless of weather or not they have the same director.

Just look at Return of the Jedi, George Lucas had delivered two great movies before that but somehow, he decides to come up with stuff like the Ewoks.

There just seem to be times when directors get carried away with the creative processess, and, as many have said before TDK di have an "Empire Strikes Back" feel to it, (Blue color scheme anyone?)

To put it bluntly I see no reason to believe that Nolan will strike gold twice.

There are many reasons this movie could fail, I could make a list if you want.

 

[MaceB]

Just look at Return of the Jedi, George Lucas had delivered two great movies before that but somehow, he decides to come up with stuff like the Ewoks.

Lucas produced all three of the original Star Wars movies, but he only directed A New Hope. And honestly.... A New Hope was loved a lot more for it's groundbreaking special effects than it's storytelling.
Although it's true that third installments usually fall flat, have a little hope man. Just because they are usually that way, doesn't mean they have to be that way. And Nolan is truly a special kind of director - quality seems to be his utmost priority.

 

[8Diagrams(WU)]

I think he along with his brother, Goyer and Crowley would be insulted to hear its "non full time work." Its not about regrets or money. Its about moving on and expanding his career. In the decade he's spent on Batman he would have done 5 films with only 2 non-Batman films. That's not much at all for a director who's guiding mantra is to do fresh, new things. There's also only so much that can be done with WB. They don't hold all the rights to all the film projects out there and its ludicrous to assume that Nolan would only work on WB's projects. This isn't the age of Jack Warner.

There's a certain pollyanna attitude that fanboys have about Nolan. Oh he's making money or Batman is his pet project. All true but many of you folks give it too much credence in terms of his overall attitude to film making which when taken with a decade's worth of work on Batman make the case very hard that he'll be back for Batman 4.

Its not full time work in the time frame you specified, so it would be an insult if it wasnt an accurate assesment which it is. They did work on other projects. You made it seem liek Nolan worked for 10 years straight on batman and didnt do anythign else. No breaks, no prestigue, no screenplays, no nothing else which isnt true. His hard work was certainly compensated with millions of dollars but its not like he exclusively worked on it for 8 years straight. Which is also why this is a great gig for him. He gets creative freedom, funding for his other projects, and he leaves a huge mark in modern culture.

There is plenty that can be done with WB and that is why the release a great quantity of movies worldwide every year. We are talking about the studio that is creating Bond-esque franchises and is about to pump out its 7th harry potter movie. Its a major movie studio and they are there for nolan and any project he could ever come up with. Nolan does not have to go and pitch any other projects to any studio so that they could fund them ever again. He has earned their respect and has a professional working relationship with them. If he actually had to go somewhere else to find funding for his projects then WB does not have any business sense. Nolan has himself mentioned in interviews the relationship he now has with WB, and that is something we can go with as it is actually stated. I would be very surprised to see Nolan working for another studio in the next 10 years.

WB will not stop making batman movies. Not after BB and TDKs success. Movies are investments above anything else, and you can absolutely bet that the batman franchise is not going to sit on the shelf for long if it can make investors money. Nolan is not going to put 10 years worth of work and hype building, as you said, to let someoen else come in and take that cash that most certainly belongs to him as he came up with a very succesful formula. He isnt stupid and Im sure we can all agree on that. Hell, even people assumed that raimi was not going to do any more spiderman movies after his apparent exhaustion and the criticism he recieved on S3...yet here he goes again for servings 4 and 5.

Once again, assuming that Nolan would stop at #3 is a possibility, but it is nothing but an assumption that could very well be incorrect.

 

[Symbiotic]

Lucas produced all three of the original Star Wars movies, but he only directed A New Hope. And honestly.... A New Hope was loved a lot more for it's groundbreaking special effects than it's storytelling.
Although it's true that third installments usually fall flat, have a little hope man. Just because they are usually that way, doesn't mean they have to be that way. And Nolan is truly a special kind of director - quality seems to be his utmost priority.

Agreed. If there's one director who can give a big "Screw you!" to the 'third movie curse', it's Nolan.

 

[Anita18]

I keep having a dream where Nolan is standing in front of a burning stack of money with makeup on his face saying in a grim manner, "This studios... mine now.... It's not about the money... it's about sending a message... to Fox..."

I don't think WB/Nolan are necessarily going out and sending a message to Fox in particular, but Fox must be watching from the wings, silently cursing.

As far as Nolan coming back. He might, he might not. But when all is said and done with Batman 3, he would have spent almost a decade doing Batman when it all began in 2002. That's a huge amount of time for any creatively driven person to devote to a single entity. Anything more would limit his career from a creative standpoint and if you've read and listened to Nolan you'd know that a key motivating force for him is to do fresh, new things. So I think the third Batman film will unequivocally be his last.

George Lucas can't let Star Wars die. But I think at this point, it's about the merchandising rights.

I'd really like to see Nolan's Howard Hughes project, that he scrapped after Martin Scorsese made The Aviator. Jonah Nolan also had been working on a script on the Great Chicago Fires that we haven't heard anything about in a while, but since he's a writer, he's dabbled here and there on other projects. Being a director is so much more intensive...

Sure its years of non fulltime work, but you also forget that its also a great deal of money that he cannot get anywhere else. I highly doubt Nolan regrets spending any of this time on Batman considering the cash he has made in only two movies. Nolan makes more money with Bats than with anything else. Letting go of the cash cow and momentum he created so that someone else could cash in would be insane on his behalf.

Undoubtedly he and his family is set for life, but I've never got the feeling that they were only doing it for the money.

Also what we have to keep in mind is that the entire cast might not be up for infinite Batman movies. Christian Bale is finally coming into his own as an A-list action-movie actor, after BB/TDK and Terminator. But one day he might decide his body's not up for it anymore. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are also getting up there in age, God forbid anything should happen to them. Once the cast starts to change drastically, any Nolan-directed Batman film won't be the same anymore.

I can see Nolan still offering some producing (not just "name on the movie" kind of producer either ) and writing help for future Batman movies even if he doesn't direct them anymore.

 

[8Diagrams(WU)]

Undoubtedly he and his family is set for life, but I've never got the feeling that they were only doing it for the money.

Also what we have to keep in mind is that the entire cast might not be up for infinite Batman movies. Christian Bale is finally coming into his own as an A-list action-movie actor, after BB/TDK and Terminator. But one day he might decide his body's not up for it anymore. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are also getting up there in age, God forbid anything should happen to them. Once the cast starts to change drastically, any Nolan-directed Batman film won't be the same anymore.

I can see Nolan still offering some producing (not just "name on the movie" kind of producer either ) and writing help for future Batman movies even if he doesn't direct them anymore.

I no doubt agree with you. Nolan does seem like the ultimate director. Lots of artistic integrity and talent combined with business smarts and projection. I think we can all agree that by walking out of the batman franchise he knows that he is stepping away from millions of dollars. Wether he does or not is all speculation and assumptions, but we all know for sure that he is aware of that fact and a smart man of Nolans's calibre thinks twice before jumping off knowng that the next in line will make cash based on the work he has put so far reigniting the franchise. That is if his original pitch to WB included multiple movies and not just his origin arc. Time will tell, but to think that batman stops at 3 is nothing but an unfounded assumption in my humble opinion.

 

[namtaB]

Its not full time work in the time frame you specified, so it would be an insult if it wasnt an accurate assesment which it is. They did work on other projects. You made it seem liek Nolan worked for 10 years straight on batman and didnt do anythign else. No breaks, no prestigue, no screenplays, no nothing else which isnt true. His hard work was certainly compensated with millions of dollars but its not like he exclusively worked on it for 8 years straight. Which is also why this is a great gig for him. He gets creative freedom, funding for his other projects, and he leaves a huge mark in modern culture.

There is plenty that can be done with WB and that is why the release a great quantity of movies worldwide every year. We are talking about the studio that is creating Bond-esque franchises and is about to pump out its 7th harry potter movie. Its a major movie studio and they are there for nolan and any project he could ever come up with. Nolan does not have to go and pitch any other projects to any studio so that they could fund them ever again. He has earned their respect and has a professional working relationship with them. If he actually had to go somewhere else to find funding for his projects then WB does not have any business sense. Nolan has himself mentioned in interviews the relationship he now has with WB, and that is something we can go with as it is actually stated. I would be very surprised to see Nolan working for another studio in the next 10 years.

WB will not stop making batman movies. Not after BB and TDKs success. Movies are investments above anything else, and you can absolutely bet that the batman franchise is not going to sit on the shelf for long if it can make investors money. Nolan is not going to put 10 years worth of work and hype building, as you said, to let someoen else come in and take that cash that most certainly belongs to him as he came up with a very succesful formula. He isnt stupid and Im sure we can all agree on that. Hell, even people assumed that raimi was not going to do any more spiderman movies after his apparent exhaustion and the criticism he recieved on S3...yet here he goes again for servings 4 and 5.

Once again, assuming that Nolan would stop at #3 is a possibility, but it is nothing but an assumption that could very well be incorrect.

I tend to forget the intelligence level here sometimes. He began the Batman odyssey in 2002. If Batman 3 is coming out 2011 or 2012, that's about a decade. Only ignorance would lead you to believe that he spent every waking moment on Batman in those 10 years. Of course he didn't, but you have to factor in opportunity cost. All that time on Batman left little room and time to do anything else which is why he only made 2 non-Batman films during this period. Even Prestige was filmed while work was being done on TDK.

Again, WB will make plenty of Batman films. But what makes you think Nolan still wants to continue doing them? When Sulla took control of Rome he killed thousands of patricians and seized all their money and property. He was absolute undisputed dictator of Rome. And you know what he did? He gave up his dictatorial powers and retired to his villa never to return to the military or political life. Sulla knew when to end things and move on. I'm confident given Nolan's comments about how he approaches films that he thinks accordingly.

You also seem to believe that these are the Jack Warner days where a Studio dominated everything. WB is one major studio, so what? Do you have any idea of the amount of intellectual property rights, legal issues, etc. etc. etc. that are involved in film making these days? Its assinine to think that WB can provide the canvas for all or even most of Nolan's future projects. The industry just doesn't work like that today. Everyone now has a legal interest to a single property. To think he won't work at another studio for the next 10 years just demonstrates your absolute ignorance about this industry.

Let's put it this way. The strongest argument in favor of Nolan returning for Batman 4 is the money involved. The strongest argument against Nolan returning for Batman 4 is the opportunity cost involved in making another Batman which prevents him for exploring a creatively different project. If you've read his comments, doing something fresh, new and challenging is his guiding principle in film making. So you tell me, which position has the strongest support?

You naive fanboys crack me up.

 

[thedarks0ldier]

I tend to forget the intelligence level here sometimes. He began the Batman odyssey in 2002. If Batman 3 is coming out 2011 or 2012, that's about a decade. Only ignorance would lead you to believe that he spent every waking moment on Batman in those 10 years. Of course he didn't, but you have to factor in opportunity cost. All that time on Batman left little room and time to do anything else which is why he only made 2 non-Batman films during this period. Even Prestige was filmed while work was being done on TDK.

Again, WB will make plenty of Batman films. But what makes you think Nolan still wants to continue doing them? When Sulla took control of Rome he killed thousands of patricians and seized all their money and property. He was absolute undisputed dictator of Rome. And you know what he did? He gave up his dictatorial powers and retired to his villa never to return to the military or political life. Sulla knew when to end things and move on. I'm confident given Nolan's comments about how he approaches films that he thinks accordingly.

You also seem to believe that these are the Jack Warner days where a Studio dominated everything. WB is one major studio, so what? Do you have any idea of the amount of intellectual property rights, legal issues, etc. etc. etc. that are involved in film making these days? Its assinine to think that WB can provide the canvas for all or even most of Nolan's future projects. The industry just doesn't work like that today. Everyone now has a legal interest to a single property. To think he won't work at another studio for the next 10 years just demonstrates your absolute ignorance about this industry.

Let's put it this way. The strongest argument in favor of Nolan returning for Batman 4 is the money involved. The strongest argument against Nolan returning for Batman 4 is the opportunity cost involved in making another Batman which prevents him for exploring a creatively different project. If you've read his comments, doing something fresh, new and challenging is his guiding principle in film making. So you tell me, which position has the strongest support?

You naive fanboys crack me up.

You make it sound like it's a chore for him to make a Batman movie.

I bet you no matter who directs Batman 4, we won't get it until around 2015 or 2016, 4-5 years after Batman 3.

By that time it would be easier for the general public to accept another directors style or another Batman. If Nolan and co. decide they just can't get away from the character then the films might be more successful and the alloted time gives them time to refill their creative juices with new and fresh ideas.

 

[Van Petrol]

This looks like just the same stuff we already know regurgitated. Nothing new here.