Batman 3 is now Official

[dan2091]

That's right dudes, Batman 3 is pretty much official.

While Christopher Nolan hasn't finished his latest movie, 'Inception', yet, right now Jonathan Nolan is writing the script of a story Chris Nolan and David Goyer had written; pretty much in the way 'The Dark Knight' was done.

Here are the news in Batman-On-Film.com http://www.batman-on-film.com/BATMAN...l_3-10-10.html.
And the whole story originally from THE HERO COMPLEX BLOG, where it's also officially announced that Chris Nolan will be 'Godfathering' the Superman reboot.

As put as in BOF.com:

* “My brother is writing a script for me and we’ll wait to see how it turns out...he’s struggling to put it together into the epic story that you want it to be.”

* “Without getting into specifics [on the story], the key thing that makes the third film an great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story.”

* “We have a great ensemble [cast], that’s one of the attractions of doing another film, since we’ve been having a great time for years.”

* “I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we’ve done with the characters. My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these thing don’t go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we’re telling. And it hearkens back to that priority of trying to find the reality in these fantastic stories. That’s what we do.”

So this is, to me, the best 2010 news! The fact that they're not going to let the story continue aimlessly as if it was a comicbook, but actually giving to it an ending to what they began in Batman Begins and continued in The Dark Knight is fantastic.

“My brother is writing a script for me and we’ll wait to see how it turns out...he’s struggling to put it together into the epic story that you want it to be.”

This line is quite important to me, as you may know Christopher Nolan indeed said that he'll only return if there was another good story to be told.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/hero...opher-nol.html

Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one?

I'm certainly looking forward to what Christopher Nolan will do in the next movie as much as I'm looking forward to Inception.

[Eagle]

cool, thanks for the scoop.

[dan2091]

There has been a dispute regarding Nolan saying 'we want to finish our story'. So people is concerned if this will be the last Batman film ever... I don't think WB would ever stop, by any means, making Batman films. And so, this is my point of view:

I must say I love Christopher Nolan's work and everything he's done with Batman but..

I wouldn't mind if they don't do another Batman film after this one and I'm not talking about Chris, I'm talking about not doing another one forever ever... D'you know what I mean? Such is my trust in Christopher Nolan that even if they do another one (and oh they certainly will) I hope they never ever associate them with Nolan's work, even if it's as good as his or better.

I just don't care.

The fact that he said that he wants to finish his story blew my mind sky high. That's an interesting concept that I really hope to see done and keeps untouched along in the development of the film.

Yes there will be future Batman films, even if Batman himself dies on this one. I want to put my point clear, EVERYONE wants a Batman film after this one and after that one, but I just hope Nolan ends his story in this film in ANY way he wants.

Just as he was free to begin his story at any point, if he wants to kill him, please proceed to do so. No, I'm not saying that I want Batman dead, dude, he's my hero! (...and they wouldn't kill him anyway) What I'm trying to say is that this will be the end of Nolan's Batman and if someone else comes and makes another one it just won't be Batman 4, it will just be another Batman that I may or may not love depending on the new guy's direction.

Just don't pretend that the next one will be the same Batman from Christopher Nolan, it just won't. As some guys from another forum said, it's a beautiful thing that will go on forever. Just let this be, not the end of Batman but the end of the story of THIS Batman.

As somebody else said it, if it never ends, what's the point after all? We need to relate to this guy. And it's such a brave thing from Nolan and it is what caught my eye from the first place, something totally different from the comicbooks: a real ending.

[Kalki]

Originally Posted by dan2091

Just don't pretend that the next one will be the same Batman from Christopher Nolan, it just won't. As some guys from another forum said, it's a beautiful thing that will go on forever. Just let this be, not the end of Batman but the end of the story of THIS Batman.

I can get on board with that. Nolan has borrowed from the best stories so far, Year One & Killing Joke. It's not a leap to imagine, particularly in light of this announcement, that the third and final act would be along the lines of The Dark Knight Returns. The groundwork has been laid, with Batman as a murder suspect pitted against the authorities, no white knight to save Gotham and Batman impersonators following his example.

I'm glad Nolan took this decision. There was only so far he could go with a limited, realistic rogue's gallery.

[Damien_Azreal]

Please... please let the Riddler be the baddy in this one.

But this is awesome news, and I'm very excited for this.

[dan2091]

Acutally I'm pretty interested in seeing how Christopher Nolan would handle the Riddler. This character can be angled in so many ways that I'm just curious to dead to see how Nolan see him.

There's been discussions about recasting the Joker too. I don't see it as a bad thing, you know, 'we're destined to do this forever'. Although if they're going to end this Batman story, having Batman and Gotham moving on from the Joker is not a bad idea. Maybe not, or just a little .

There are so much things I expect from this film, I know it will deliver .

[Kit]

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

Please... please let the Riddler be the baddy in this one.

Though considering how strong Batmans rogues gallery is I wouldn’t be surprised if Nolan chose to makeover one of the lesser known villains.

* “I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we’ve done with the characters. My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these thing don’t go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we’re telling. And it hearkens back to that priority of trying to find the reality in these fantastic stories. That’s what we do.”

Characters they’d struggle to ground; Killer Croc, Bane, Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Clayface, Manbat, Mr Freeze - which is a shame as despite Arnies butchering in Batman & Robin his character has one of the better back stories.

Realistically they could bring in the Penguin, Black Mask, The Riddler (!), the Clock King, possibly bring back Ra's al Ghu (Liam Neeson ftw).

It’s a shame really. A final duel to the death with the Joker would have rounded off the Joker story arc nicely, but you just can’t replace Heath Ledger; I imagine after the final showdown they could have made a fourth film with a much older Batman (mid-40’s, 50’s) contemplating hanging up the cape while battling the Riddler.

[dan2091]

I remember when The Dark Knight was released and someone made that poster up. Loved how the batman symbol was marker-drawn...

I've been thinking about how a Batman film would work with Freeze and yes, despite being a fitting science ficition character, Mr. Freeze is just a perfect choice for a film noire, and I'm convinced of this because of his portray in TAS.

I think recasting someone else as the Joker isn't a bad idea. Heath Ledger did the greatest performance I've ever seen but if Nolan needs the Joker back to complete the story then I hope he does it despite people disagreeing.

How many ways are there to portray the Joker? Lots and lots. The next actor doesn't need to copycat Ledger performance. It was Nolan's direction and Ledger's performance. If you chance one half of the equation you will definitely get something different (maybe better or worse) and I certainly hope so.

[MegaMustaine]

If Nolan wants realistic characters, he should go for a more realistic story as well. While I liked the previous two movies, they had the hero saves the world or in this case Gotham type stories. I wish we would get more of a murder\detective story where the balance of Gotham doesn't hang in the balance. Won't happen, especially now with the story arc, but it would have been nice if this would have been done in the first place.

As far as villains go, I hope they pick someone fresh. The Batman universe has so many neat characters that I think it is sad that they will more than likely stick to the one's everyone knows.

[Thief]

+1 for Clock King. It's Fugate, sir...Temple Fugate.

[Kalki]

Originally Posted by MegaMustaine

If Nolan wants realistic characters, he should go for a more realistic story as well. While I liked the previous two movies, they had the hero saves the world or in this case Gotham type stories. I wish we would get more of a murder\detective story where the balance of Gotham doesn't hang in the balance. Won't happen, especially now with the story arc, but it would have been nice if this would have been done in the first place.

Batman and his villains may be realistic but their ambitions fall on a scale that encompasses all of Gotham. Comes from striving to be remembered as legends, using fear to be more than just men.

Riddler's a good option. But I'd like to see him as a loner, a John Doe who is only revealed at the end. Everything about him should be a question mark.

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

Yes. And have Black Mask for the mob side of things.

[MegaMustaine]

Originally Posted by Kalki

Batman and his villains may be realistic but their ambitions fall on a scale that encompasses all of Gotham.

I completely disagree. Their ambitions very rarely fall on such ambition that you speak of. Batman's villains are much more about personal vendettas and personal gain more than anything else. Very rarely does a villain do something that puts Batman in a position to have to save all of Gotham as he has done in the 2 Nolan films.

[Damien_Azreal]

Originally Posted by dan2091

I think recasting someone else as the Joker isn't a bad idea. Heath Ledger did the greatest performance I've ever seen but if Nolan needs the Joker back to complete the story then I hope he does it despite people disagreeing.

IIRC Nolan said shortly after Ledger passed away that if he ever did a third Batman movie he would not recast the joker as he felt that would be an insult to the character Heath created.

[Kalki]

Originally Posted by MegaMustaine

I completely disagree. Their ambitions very rarely fall on such ambition that you speak of. Batman's villains are much more about personal vendettas and personal gain more than anything else. Very rarely does a villain do something that puts Batman in a position to have to save all of Gotham as he has done in the 2 Nolan films.

I was referring to Nolan's universe and how villainous ambitions relate to character realism, not the comic books. Yet you're wrong about Batman having to save the city in both films. Gotham as a whole was only put in peril in the first film but that is entirely consistent with the comics where Ra's Al Ghul's schemes have put Gotham in peril, his goal being to eliminate most of humanity in mass genocide. Scarecrow in the comics mostly uses his fear gas for personal gain, yes and those are indeed his motives in Begins, to hold the city to ransom.

In TDK the Joker never puts the city as a whole in peril and deals with them collectively only to induce mass panic which helps him run his little social experiments. Examples being - the first video threat & follow-ups, calling for Coleman Reese's execution, blowing up the hospital and subsequent TV message; all so he could isolate his subjects - Batman, Dent & the ferry people respectively. It shows the Joker's ambitions reflecting Batman's in scale but Gotham wasn't in danger of destruction like it was in Begins.
Two-Face also didn't have issues larger than pursuing his personal vendetta. Yes people would have lost hope had they learned how he'd fallen, undoing all the work Batman & Gordon put in but again, it's not the save the city scenario you refer to.

[Damien_Azreal]

Very well said Kalki. And I agree completely.

I'm kind of voting for the Riddler as the main villain because, IMO, it seems like one of the only ones that's left that can actually be... done and handled realistically.
The Batman universe has a TON of amazing villains and baddies. All of which are simply awesome in their own way.
But, with the style of film that Nolan has constructed in his Batman universe... it's all very grounded into reality. It all seems plausible.

Take a villain like Clayface or Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze and on and on... awesome baddies respectively.... but their origins and abilities... way to sci-fi to fit into the Batman style that Nolan has built upon.
Now, I'm willing to support and back whatever direction Nolan heads in... and after everyone freaked out when he cast Ledger as the Joker, and seeing what came of that... I'll support whoever he casts for whatever.

But, my only hope... is that with this being the ending, he stays consistent, keep it believable and based in reality. Which I'm sure he will.

[dan2091]

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

IIRC Nolan said shortly after Ledger passed away that if he ever did a third Batman movie he would not recast the joker as he felt that would be an insult to the character Heath created.

Yes, but he was also not considering coming back to do a third installment. See, Heath Ledger didn't create the character, it was already there. The impersonation is what he created and made a great performance that I keep claiming it's the best today.

I don't mean to insult Ledger at all , I love what he did, but because of his sudden dead I would hate Nolan changing what he had in mind for a third film.

To say something that people may have forgotten or maybe have considerd a 'mistake' from The Dark Knight:

Spoiler:

show spoiler

Who the f*ck were the five people Dent killed? Well, following BOF there was this Live Event where Nolan answered some questions from fans.

Regarding The Dark Knight, someone asked “Towards the end of the film, Com. Gordon mentions covering up 5 deaths in relation to Harvey Dent. Who are these 5 people, including the 2 cops?”, to which he replied ‘I will answer this question. Just not today.’

http://www.batman-on-film.com/BATMAN..._12-19-08.html

See, it wasn't as clear as the Joker card from Batman Begins, but maybe with this he will set up the next one. And so I'd hate if what he planned doesn't happen.

Originally Posted by Kalki

Riddler's a good option. But I'd like to see him as a loner, a John Doe who is only revealed at the end. Everything about him should be a question mark.

Heck yes! That'll do. I see the Riddler as a loner too, to smart to comfort. And with him, we may be able to explore more the detective side of Batman and have the Riddler or the Joker uncovering Dent's kills that Batman take blame for, just like MegaMustaine kinda wants.

There were rumors not long ago that the Joker was considered to come back in Batman 3 and if it's necessary to complete the story I certainly hope he does. This article is pretty good, regarding this topic http://www.batman-on-film.com/opinio...s_1-23-10.html .

Still, I want another villian to appear, I'm deeply interested in how Nolan sees the Riddler and how he would handle this mastermind. There are lots of things that can be done with a character with such potential to be exploded.

But what I disagree with MegaMustaine is the scale-down film thing. I'd actually love to see that in a Batman film, a film noire? haha yes! But not now that Nolan's finishing his story, his big in scale story. It won't happen anyway.

I don't remember where I read it but in an article Nolan was kinda comparing The Dark Knight and Inception and how with this new film they have a greater scale of chaos and drama.. . The point is, he is doing this bigger in scale film and Batman 3 will be a lot bigger than these two.

I agree with Kalki, too. Great point of view . Gotham itself is not in peril in The Dark Knight but it found itself in such a situation that the whole city came on together for the fear they felt. And that was exactly what Nolan wanted. I hope they keep this concept from The Dark Knight:

'We're attempting to tell a very large, city story [...]. If you want to take on Gotham, you want to give Gotham a kind of weight and breadth and depth in there. So you wind up dealing with the political figures, the media figures. That's part of the whole fabric of how a city is bound together."
http://movies.ign.com/articles/839/839933p2.html

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

But, my only hope... is that with this being the ending, he stays consistent, keep it believable and based in reality. Which I'm sure he will.

He definitely will, man.

[Opus131]

I believe the next villain will probably be lights.

[Kit]

Originally Posted by dan2091

I've been thinking about how a Batman film would work with Freeze and yes, despite being a fitting science ficition character, Mr. Freeze is just a perfect choice for a film noire, and I'm convinced of this because of his portray in TAS.

He’d make an interesting change of pace given his tragic story (something they could have Batman empathise with) but as has been mentioned, it would be difficult to tone down the sci-fi aspects of his character without losing what made him (no pun intended) cool.

Originally Posted by Kalki

Riddler's a good option. But I'd like to see him as a loner, a John Doe who is only revealed at the end. Everything about him should be a question mark.

Yes, twisted Se7en-esque murders that appear to be indiscriminately killing off criminal and political figures, leading to a climatic unveil. That would be an entertaining way to go, but I imagine they’d need another villain(s) for Batman to play against - insert a few of the lesser known characters trying to take the Jokers mantle, maybe?

Originally Posted by Thief

+1 for Clock King. It's Fugate, sir...Temple Fugate.

Hehe… I remember him being quite humorous in the animated series; over emphasising the words ‘clock’ and ‘time’ whenever he talked.

A very underrated character.

it's also officially announced that Chris Nolan will be 'Godfathering' the Superman reboot.

They need a colder more calculated Lex to make the reboot work. I think the way forward is to portray him like they did in the recent animated film; no smiles, brief dialogue, lots of shots of him observing.

I also wouldn’t mind seeing Superman go up against Brainiac or Doomsday; I know that’s not the path Nolan is likely to take, but they're the only ones I know of who've bested superman.

[Thief]

Originally Posted by Kit

Hehe… I remember him being quite humorous in the animated series; over emphasising the words ‘clock’ and ‘time’ whenever he talked.

A very underrated character.

Underrated indeed. Because of his mastery of time he's actually a match for Batman in hand-to-hand combat...well not quite a match, but more of a good counter-attacker. Would love to see someone like say...William H. Macy play him.

[prophecy holder]

Seeing how it's Nolan, I doubt we'll see some of the more colorful and creative Batman foes like Killer croc or Man bat. But maybe something like the ventriloqiest or Maxie zues or use KGbeast with a new president could be interesting.

[John]

The Riddler must make an apperance in the film. There are so many ways they could use a "gritty, realistic" riddler in the same vein as Heath played the Joker.

It's also great to hear that Nolan is going to be working on a Superman reboot. In his hands, it should work great.

[edit] Also this was in the LATimes Blog link -

Perhaps. But the great challenge is to find a villain (or villains) who can not only match up with the Caped Crusader but also with Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning portrayal of the scabby, demented Joker. Fans have churned up the rumor mill for months now (Johnny Depp as the Riddler? Angelina Jolie as Catwoman? Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin? Ben Kingsley as Hugo Strange?). But Nolan, no fan of letting cats out of the bag, declined to play along.

His villain choices to date have steered clear of strongly supernatural or super-science characters (no Man-Bat, Mr. Freeze or Poison Ivy, for instance) but he shook his head when asked if that was a trajectory he would continue. He did however concede one tidbit: “It won’t be," he said, "Mr. Freeze.”

[dan2091]

So, Riddler's fans are not alone. It seems Hans Zimmer, composer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, wants the Riddler to appear in Batman 3, too.
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/03/18...r-hans-zimmer/

Just in case, Zimmer has nothing to do with the development of the story, script, etc. At this point he's just a fan saying who he would like to see as a villian on the film.

[PsychoGoatee]

I'm mega pumped for this movie. Gotta be the most anticipated movie sequel possible right now.

[ryche]

Let's see Deathstroke in it.

I also like the Riddler idea and Black Mask...or if they want...Hush

Hush has worked with the Riddler...and currently in comics looks like Bruce Wayne.

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

Looks like this could be the date.

[Damien_Azreal]

2012 huh....

[dan2091]

Such a nice day... , Now that's going to be epic. I certainly hope they don't change it.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

ooo a star trek sequel.

[dan2091]

So, the Joker's not appearing again or being recast in Batman 3 after all. Taken from Batman-On-Film:
http://www.batman-on-film.com/BATMAN...ew_6-4-10.html

Would he bring back The Joker via a recast?
"No. I just don’t feel comfortable talking about it."

[Xgthug]

I think Robert Pattinson should play The Riddler.
He's the only one talented enough to top Heath's Joker.








...

[Nessus]

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

IIRC Nolan said shortly after Ledger passed away that if he ever did a third Batman movie he would not recast the joker as he felt that would be an insult to the character Heath created.

The only sensible thing to do. That performance is now considered iconic, it's a part of pop culture and so popular that people who never watched any of the movies know about it. For the sake of one or two more films with Bale or whatever it winds up being you just have to let the Joker lie.

[dan2091]

The Dark Knight Rises is the title of the next Batman film, according to this article from Hero Complex.

July 20th, 2012 is still the release date of the film and it's also confirmed that the Riddler won't be in the film.

[Paroxysm]

The best news is that it won't be filmed in ******* 3d.

[Crosma]

I'd really like to see more of the Scarecrow. He might as well be in all three, right?

[dan2091]

I was scared as well that Warner would oblige Nolan to film in 3D, but I'm glad he won that debate; and yes, hearing how he's going to 'use' the characters already created in the past two films, I'd like to see Scarecrow coming back again, one more time.

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

I hope they film the whole movie in IMAX this time.

It looks so damn good on Blu-Ray.

[Thief]

My dreams of seeing the Clock King have been dashed.

[Nessus]

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

Please... please let the Riddler be the baddy in this one.

Edward Norton could probably pull off the Riddler. Who else working today do you think could do it? Joaquin Pheonix? He's half crazy at least.

[prophecy holder]

Originally Posted by Nessus

Edward Norton could probably pull off the Riddler. Who else working today do you think could do it? Joaquin Pheonix? He's half crazy at least.

Garry busey.

Full crazy.