Not worried about such a gap. I'm sure, one way or another, we'll see another Batman film by 2013.
*nods* I'm not hugely worried myself, though maybe an 8 year gap would be a stretch even by my standards and I'm a very patient person. 5 years would be a long time for me already but I'd survive. 8, just as an example, does sound long. The older you get, the longer such periods of time seem to be, you know.
Plus, a lot (not ALL) of the younger crowd (teens and early 20's folks maybe but teens especially) aren't famous for their patience, so you've got both a group of slightly more patient older fans and the younger "instant gratification" fans not used to waiting years and years or even decades for a new film, wringing their hands over a movie production and speaking up about the delays. There's always
someone, old or young, complaining about something, and as a fan complaining is pretty much expected of you. The question is if DC/WB actually care.
The younger fans are a big portion of the target demographic. Losing their interest or upsetting them with a long delay between films isn't ideal for a franchise. Not sure how huge an effect that would have on a movie production though. The companies do know fans are the ones who complain the most anyway, so maybe they're thinking complaining is something that comes with the whole package, and they don't pay it that much attention? How much can DC/WB possibly care, really? Hm.
But I think upset online fans constantly bemoaning the delays are bad publicity at the end of the day and that
some attention at least should be paid to them. The shelved JLA movie didn't exactly get good publicity and fan opinions weren't the reason why production stopped but maybe they made WB wonder a little, who knows?
Overall, they know fans don't like it but at the same time there's not much they can do about delays if they're waiting for a certain director to come on board. If they're set on one busy director and one alone for the time being, they're going to ignore the fan comments and just wait it out. It's the risk they're willing to take if they want Nolan so much. Bad publicity or no. And the longer the waiting, the more complaining there will be from people. At some point the media will start wondering what's taking so long, too. All eyes are set on this franchise and Nolan.
As for the time frame, it's hard to say but I think WB would wait for Nolan for a while but not forever. And to some 8 years does seem "forever" and 10 like "eternity and beyond".
t: From a business standpoint? Who knows? Do you wait 10 years to have a good hit somewhat compared to TDK but nothing of the ilk before that or do you send Nolan packing and hire someone new and have a moderate hit (by TDK's standards) sooner as more of a short-term solution?
Wouldn't die-hard fans go with the first option and money-hungry execs with the latter? WB can say the ball's in Nolan's court all they want, there's still the question how long they're willing to play that particular game. So it's not just us fans waiting, it's WB, too. I see it as a test of patience on both sides.
(Sorry for the length.)
