What next for Batman? UPDATE!

[The Curmudgeon]

OK, we've all seen The Dark Knight, right? (And if you haven't seen it, click out of here NOW. Here be spoilers).

So there will, of course, be a third Batman film. So what do you expect/want to see?

The Batman being seen as a murderous villain is an interesting road to take, but two bit cops chasing Bats isn't going to be much of a challenge, so that can only mean one thing - a villain.

As I said in Benjamin's original Dark Knight thread, I was disappointed to see Two-Face die. I actually thought he would be the main villain for the third film, (my wife predicts he'll come back, that he's not actually dead. But surely they wouldn't play the "I'm not dead really" card twice?)

There's a good range of characters that could challenge Batman, all giving the film a totally different slant. Catwoman would be an interesting choice, but I can't imagine how that would really work, and after Halle Berry's disastrous efforts, they would probably try and avoid her). So would The Penguin, some grotesque gargoyle figure work? Or would they opt for The Riddler (even though it would have to be seriously different from the Joker). Or why not take a whole new angle and go for Bane?

Thoughts?

[trashcanman]

Two Face is not dead, according to many, though there is a lot of confusion there. One of the film's few failings. Apparently, they are going to lock him up in Arkham, say Batman killed him and hold a fake funeral, or so insist the fandom. He'll be back, I say. I really, really want Catwoman now. Ivy and Lady Shiva could be great in Nolan's hands, but I'm hoping for Selina Kyle and The Black Mask for the next movie. Penguin just doesn't appeal to me at this point.

[The Curmudgeon]

I hope you're right about Two-Face. I really do.

That's one of the film's strong points as well, in my opinion; sticking to the comic book's roots and NOT killing off the villains. That always annoys me about comic book movies - the villain is born and dies in the same damn film, when we all know villains never die. Locking up the Scarecrow at the start was a really nice touch, and now they've got The Joker and (possibly) Two-Face in Arkham..

I remember reading somewhere (before the film came out) that they might bring The Joker back but as a different actor. I said it then and I'm saying it now - that will NEVER happen. Who knows what plans they had in store for the sequel before Heath died, but there's no way they would bring that character back with someone else under the make-up. Not in a million years.

I think Catwoman would be a good idea if done right. Frankly both films have had zero romantic or sexual chemistry between Bats and Rachel Dawes, so an injection of some sex appeal by a villain would be good to see.

I hadn't even thought of Black Mask - what an EXCELLENT idea for a villain. Given the right actor, he could be the stuff of pure nightmares.

I was actually reading the Wikipedia list of Batman's villains and it just reminded me of some of the absolute shit has plagued DC over the years.

[iadair89]

I Really would like a new "good guy" into the movies but i realy dont think Robin is ready yet. Maybe Barbra Gordon or someone better.

As to vilians i Hope Penguin Comes in to it and bane but if bane does come in it means that Ivy will be there too.

[The Curmudgeon]

Umm.. Bane doesn't have any ties to Poison Ivy, does she? Wasn't he just some guy who got experimented on in prison? I'm no Batman (or DC comics, for that matter) expert, but I'm pretty sure he's not connected to Ivy in any real way.

As for Babs Gordon, I commented on this earlier - she IS in it, but its not the Batgirl we all know and love. In fact, for some weird reason, Barbara Gordon is Jim Gordon's wife.

[trashcanman]

If they want to play it that way, how about the new Batgirl, Cassandra Cain? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra_Cain

Her costume is creepy as hell and she's a dark character who would fit into this iteration of Gotham perfectly. There's even a Ra's al Ghul connection to go with the first film. No Robins allowed.



In fact, I'm so impressed with that wiki biography, I really need to check her out more. Defeating Lady Shiva? NO. FUCKING. WAY.

[The Curmudgeon]

Na, you know what? After seeing TDK, I don't think there's a place for sidekicks.

He's supposed to be hated and on the run, so why would anyone want a piece of that action? Plus, if the rumours are true and there's going to be The Riddler and Catwoman (although this is all very much in the air right now) the last thing we need is bogging the story down with some wretched "origin" of Batgirl or Robin.

Besides, if there's going to be any sidekicks, you just KNOW it would have to be Robin. And I think we can do without that, thank you very much.

[iadair89]

i just noticed that it was commish gordon's wife. very wierd considering babs is supposed to be a young goodlooking woman not that old hag.

i dont think Cassy cain should be in it she is a useless batman sidekick if anything i feel that Nightwing should be in it and i know that he was robin first but robin is useless and dick grayson is hardcore and would be perfect for this New York Looking Gotham.

The one thing i hated about the new Bats is that it doesnt look like the Run Down crap hole that gotham is and they only show the New York Looking World.

Anyway thats my comments on this matter and if the producation crew for batman had any sense then they would try and up their game for the next Movie and hopefully turn the world in ruin for gotham...

[The Curmudgeon]

I really think the sidekick debate is moot - I don't imagine there's going to be one, certainly not in the third movie. There just isn't call for it yet. Certainly to start throwing randoms like Nightwing into the mix. He can't JUST be Nightwing, Iadair - he's GOT to be Robin first, otherwise you're ignoring, like, forty years of history.

[The Curmudgeon]

Well, it's official (apparantly) - Two Face IS dead.

here appears to be a debate over the fate of Harvey Dent at the end of the movie, with some mischievous fanboys refusing to accept that the Gotham DA is dead. All this despite the following:

• We see his corpse. It’s not moving. Or breathing. So it's a corpse.
• We see his funeral. Funerals tend to be held when people are dead.
• The Dark Knight script, which is now online if you know where to look, states, quite categorically, that Dent is dead. Finished. Kaput. He’s shuffled off the mortal coil. He’s run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible. He is an ex-Two-Face.

But still the conspiracy theories keep coming… about how Dent’s ‘death’ is a smokescreen. How he’ll come back in the third Batman film and wreak merry havoc. But that’s not going to happen. Officially. Sez who? Sez Aaron Eckhart, the guy who played Dent, that’s who. And if anyone should know, it’s him.

“He is dead as a door nail,” Eckhart told Coming Soon, while unwittingly contining our Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch theme. “I asked Chris [Nolan] that question and he goes, "You're dead" before I could even get the question out of my mouth. "Hey Chris, am I?" "You're dead!" Alright, cool.”

So that settles it. Two-Face is now strictly in the past tense. Which is ballsy, but then again, Nolan did kill off Ra’s Al Ghul in Batman Begins, so he clearly cares not a jot for keeping bad guys alive.

But all this continues to beg the question: if – and when – he returns to the Batfold, who will be the bad guy, or guys? Yes, it probably will be The Riddler and Catwoman.

If that is the case - holy SHIT what a waste of a good villain.

[trashcanman]

BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! You suck, Nolan!


Sorry, I didn't mean that. But the asshole has been quoted as saying he isn't a fan of killing off villains when there is so much future potential for them. He has sabotaged this franchise. Not only that, but Batman now comes off as a fucking dick. The Joker is allowed to live, but his own ex-partner in justice and his mentor get dirt naps? Two-Face had potential, yeah, but Ra's Al Ghul is the most epic Bat-villain of them all! Obviously, he could be back in a way since it was implied in BB that rather than an immortal man, it is a mantle bestowed upon the head of the League, but I want Neeson damn it!

[Benjamin Haines]

It seems like Nolan's M.O. is to introduce two villains in each Batman movie, killing one off and leaving the other alive to return in the next flick.

[trashcanman]

Yeah. Well he chose poorly both times so far.

[The Curmudgeon]

And let's face it, the Joker is as good as dead too. No actor in his right mind would ever want to touch that role after Ledger.

[The Curmudgeon]

Well, it's official - Johnny Depp IS the Riddler and the other villain iiiiiiis (drum roll)

The Penguin, played by..



Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Here's the exact scoop..

It’s one of the biggest — and most hotly debated — questions in fandom…which actors (and characters) will director Christopher Nolan enlist as a villain for his third “Batman” film? Rumors have abounded since the release of “The Dark Knight,” and Nolan has remained fiercely tight-lipped. But now, has one of his main players let slip some of the biggest casting news of the decade?

In an interview with MTV News, Michael Caine seemed to confirm rumors that the next installment of the “Batman” film franchise will feature two very well-known names playing the roles of The Riddler and the Bumbershoot Bandit, The Penguin. “They’ve already got them in mind,” said Caine, when asked who he’d like to see take up arms against the Caped Crusader. “It’s Johnny Depp as The Riddler. And The Penguin is Philip Seymour Hoffman. I read it in the paper.”

So Caine is like the rest of us, reading gossip in the tabloids, right? Except for one thing…according to the actor, he confirmed the news through the studio itself.

“When Christopher [Nolan] said we were going to do ‘The Dark Knight’ next, I didn’t what that meant in Batman terms,” related Caine, who plays Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth. “I said, ‘What’s the story?’ and he said The Joker. I said, ‘Oh, s–t! How are you going to top Jack [Nicholson]?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ve cast Heath Ledger. And I went ‘Ha! I couldn’t top Jack, but if anyone could, maybe Heath could.’ And he did.

“I was with executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make another one?’ They said yeah. I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath? And he says ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath — Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.’ I said, ‘S–t, they’ve done it again!’” [Laughs]

While rumors of Depp and Hoffman have been hot topics around the upcoming film for quite some time, this is the first instance of one of the film’s stars speaking about the news, as well as Caine citing an albeit unnamed WB executive.

Meanwhile, when asked if he’s spoken to Nolan about the news or the next installment’s script, Caine made mention of Nolan’s vacation, and hinted that, “No. He’s gone. He’ll come back with a script sometime.”

While Depp is an obvious masterstroke, the addition of Hoffman makes me all kinds of sense. He's an excellent character actor and could provide a creepy, grotesque addition to Depps' (no doubt movie stealing) character.

Great news. Shame about the lack of Catwoman, though.