The Batman General News & Discussion Thread - Part 2

[Deck Rickard]

Just give my my Reeves/Pattinson trilogy. As much as I love Keaton’s Batman, it’s hard for me to get excited about him reprising the role in a Flash movie or even Batgirl, though I’ll probably at least see the latter as I’m sure Ezra Miller won’t be a part of it. I do find it ironic that it apparently took WB 30 years to realize what they had with Keaton. Back when he played Batman before, he felt like a supporting character in BOTH of his movies, particularly the second one. It’s sad when you think about what Batman Forever could have been, but they were more concerned with toy sales than keeping their star around.

 

[The Batman]

Burton deserves as much, if not more of the blame for Keaton being overshadowed in B89 and BR, especially since Burton had more creative freedom with BR, which is Keaton at his most overshadowed.

At the end of the day, Keaton didn't want to play Batman again, and allegedly turned down a lot of money to reprise the role. I don't think it's accurate to frame this situation as WB not knowing what they had with Keaton back then.

 

[shauner111]

What’s turning me off the most about this Keaton in the Flash thing is Ezra (who I was already annoyed by as a performer and now I’m just grossed out by the sight of him) + the director that Keaton decided to do this grand return with. He might be a cool dude and maybe his style of filmmaking is simply not for me but it all just rubs me the wrong way. I was pretty excited by it when that first announcement came. But I don’t care anymore. I’ve even read good things this week about the screentest, and I’m still like ugh. Maybe it will crush, who knows? Batgirl could be the real dope return after the test run. But I’m just on this Pattinson high instead.

It’s all about this Penguin 2023-2024 show and second Batman movie in 2025. Slightly interested in a couple of other things within the genre but no real love or excitement for anything outside of Reeves’ vision.

I heard about the Batfleck in Aquaman 2 thing and had to ask “...why?”. Like I don’t get why that needs to happen. I’d rather throw on TDK trilogy for the 80th time.

 

[Lautox]

What’s turning me off the most about this Keaton in the Flash thing is Ezra (who I was already annoyed by as a performer and now I’m just grossed out by the sight of him) + the director that Keaton decided to do this grand return with. He might be a cool dude and maybe his style of filmmaking is simply not for me but it all just rubs me the wrong way. I was pretty excited by it when that first announcement came. But I don’t care anymore. I’ve even read good things this week about the screentest, and I’m still like ugh. Maybe it will crush, who knows? Batgirl could be the real dope return after the test run. But I’m just on this Pattinson high instead.

It’s all about this Penguin 2023-2024 show and second Batman movie in 2025. Slightly interested in a couple of other things within the genre but no real love or excitement for anything outside of Reeves’ vision.

I heard about the Batfleck in Aquaman 2 thing and had to ask “...why?”. Like I don’t get why that needs to happen. I’d rather throw on TDK trilogy for the 80th time.

I rather have Burton do his Batman 3 that never happend even if it's just animated, a Superman film set in the 40s like the old cartoon from that era, and "Joker Style" villain stories. I would watch all of this before the DCEU Ben Affleck stuff.

 

[Lautox]

Wow just imagine that, a Burton Batman film with Stop Motion animation

 

[shauner111]

What blows my mind is apparently we’ve only seen downtown Gotham in the first movie. I think there’s only a few locations that is located elsewhere. But it’s mainly dt Gotham. There’s sooooo much more to explore in the sequel.

I wonder if most of downtown will be a ****hole, just not a place where you can work or live near which forces Batman and the new/old rogues to basically work elsewhere. To showcase the lives of citizens that don’t live at the center of the city and possibly watch them living their lives through even worse conditions than what we saw in the first movie. I can see the buildings, streets, parks being a total DUMP. Maybe the buildings are even older.

 

[Lautox]

Yes! We've only been in downton, the shorelines, and the rich area where the mayor lived.

 

[Lautox]

What set pieces would you like to see in the sequel? I was thinking the other day about a possibility of seeing those Russian style buildings with snowy rooftops, I think it would fit the tone. Plus I don't know why I love this buildings so much, they look so depressing.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Eddie Dean]

 

[DyeLorean]

I rather have Burton do his Batman 3 that never happend even if it's just animated, a Superman film set in the 40s like the old cartoon from that era, and "Joker Style" villain stories. I would watch all of this before the DCEU Ben Affleck stuff.

Oh that would be gorgeous.
I know it is a lot more expensive, but I always wonder why they don't do more period films with superheroes.
I'm glad The Batman is basically a noir but set in modern day. Imagine that film set in the 40's... oh my!

 

[antsman41]

I need Matches Malone in the next film.

 

[Lautox]

I need Matches Malone in the next film.

you got the drifter

 

[Lautox]

Oh that would be gorgeous.
I know it is a lot more expensive, but I always wonder why they don't do more period films with superheroes.
I'm glad The Batman is basically a noir but set in modern day. Imagine that film set in the 40's... oh my!

It still manages to feel like a film from the 20th century

 

[Sawyer]

19th…? Are we quite sure about that?

 

[Kane52630]

Yeah The Batman can definitely come out in the same year as this.

 

[flickchick85]

Just try not to run out of the theater in terror when this one arrives, y'all!

 

[Lautox]

19th…? Are we quite sure about that?

Ohh I meant 20th sorry my bad!

 

[Mr. Peanut]

Batman sort of forces story tellers to ignore the modern world in a lot of ways. Modern society and technology keep making it more and more difficult to be atmospheric. Compare to the MCU or The Boys, which embrace modern technology, modern politics, modern social trends, the modern news cycle, modern advertising, modern entertainment, etc, and it feels more self-aware and satirical as a result.

 

[BatsAndNights]

Batman sort of forces story tellers to ignore the modern world in a lot of ways. Modern society and technology keep making it more and more difficult to be atmospheric. Compare to the MCU or The Boys, which embrace modern technology, modern politics, modern social trends, the modern news cycle, modern advertising, modern entertainment, etc, and it feels more self-aware and satirical as a result.

To an extent, sure, but I honestly disagree



I wouldn't say Batman doesn't embrace the modern world or modern technology. TDK is living proof it does. The Batman, similarly, really doesn't shy away from modern political commentary



I'd bet a lot of money that everyone here has seen someone criticise Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or any other billionaire for not doing more with their money to help the world and help people. And this movie more or less has that be the foundation of Bruce's character arc in this movie, where he learns his vengeful crusade against crime isn't enough to truly cause lasting and positive change in Gotham. While somewhat present in previous iterations, I can't say they had this be as massive of a focus as The Batman does.

Honestly I'd say that scene is a lot more in tune with modern day politics than anything the MCU has done. The closest we really get is Civil War and the political side to that story has had basically no long term consequences in the MCU since. The Boys obviously has it beat, given that political commentary is the entire point of the show. But I do think saying you have to ignore the modern world with Batman stories isn't really correct. In some ways, sure. But not to the extent you're saying

 

[Mr. Peanut]

To an extent, sure, but I honestly disagree



I wouldn't say Batman doesn't embrace the modern world or modern technology. TDK is living proof it does. The Batman, similarly, really doesn't shy away from modern political commentary



I'd bet a lot of money that everyone here has seen someone criticise Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or any other billionaire for not doing more with their money to help the world and help people. And this movie more or less has that be the foundation of Bruce's character arc in this movie, where he learns his vengeful crusade against crime isn't enough to truly cause lasting and positive change in Gotham. While somewhat present in previous iterations, I can't say they had this be as massive of a focus as The Batman does.

Honestly I'd say that scene is a lot more in tune with modern day politics than anything the MCU has done. The closest we really get is Civil War and the political side to that story has had basically no long term consequences in the MCU since. The Boys obviously has it beat, given that political commentary is the entire point of the show. But I do think saying you have to ignore the modern world with Batman stories isn't really correct. In some ways, sure. But not to the extent you're saying

I thought about the phone hacking thing in TDK, but like, how often do Batman stories actually involve people using their smartphones or social media? A person pulling out their phone to text about something or take snapshot or video to put on twitter? It's not really conducive to Batman's atmosphere.

And I'm not talking about political commentary...that kind of stuff can be pretty universal across generations, especially when it comes to corruption. I'm talking about the modern culture around politics and media, stuff like having Alex Jones style pundits or treating superheroes like celebrities with modern social media discourse.

Batman dabbles in that stuff...like the phone hacking in TDK, or Riddler streaming to his QAnon style followers...but only insofar as it can be massaged into the atmosphere of Batman.

 

[BatLobster]

I think Batman is flexible enough to be used as allegory for current day issues, or not.

I mean even if you're talking about the 40s noir roots, that whole genre still has a ton of connotation with the post-depression era and post World War II existentialism. How on the nose you want to get about it will always be a matter of taste, but I don't think you can continue to re-tell the same story over and over without updating it for the times.

As far as having pundits talk about Batman on TV....uh, hello Dark Knight Returns? It wouldn't be hard to update that kind of thing to the internet age if someone wanted to do it.

I also think technology should play a role in Batman stories, as it is about a billionaire with no superpowers who uses cutting edge tools to fight crime. The sonar plotline in TDK feels even more tangible now, because it seemed pretty sci-fi at the time but feels way more plausible now and super relevant to how much data big tech has on the population via our phones.

 

[Gandhi]

Do you think Reeves included the flood with a clear idea of where he wanted to go with it in the sequel/spin-offs? I think he wanted the Riddler’s endgame to include a cataclysmic event and he’s spoken in the past about focusing on one movie at a time but it seems too major of a choice to think ‘I’ll figure that out later’.

Is there any chance the flood is dealt with by the end of the Penguin series or is resolved off-screen and plays no part in the sequel?

 

[Eddie Dean]

Just try not to run out of the theater in terror when this one arrives, y'all!

The original Batmobile

 

[WatchProtect]

I don't know If the flood will ever really be dealt with, it'll definitely focus heavily in Penguin, and then the sort of fallout will be in the sequel, with Batman reeling from whatever Penguins up to, and then that films villains will probably be a direct result of the flooding.

(Deacon Blackfire preaching to the homeless, Freeze's wife being sidelined because of the flood, Ivy being angered over the city dying ect.)

I don't think it'll really matter in the Arkham show because it'll mostly just take place inside the Asylum.

I'd almost prefer for the flood to sort of be a constant reminder, an exact moment that we can pinpoint where "the freaks" moved in.