My geek dreams shift towards a Man of Steel meets The Dark Knight film instead of a full-blown Justice League movie. I’m even more convinced after reading Batman/Superman #1 in comic book shops now that a meeting of DC’s two biggest icons is the way to go.
Christian Bale has once again confirmed he will not play Batman again so who should play the Dark Knight in a team-up with Superman or Justice League movie? Christopher Nolan’s final Dark Knight film opened up the possibility of Joseph Gordon-Levitt becoming Gotham City’s new Dark Knight. I love JGL and I’d enjoy seeing a Nightwing movie so I’m going with a brand new actor in the role.
Here are my picks for the next Batman:
Batman #10 courtesy DC Comics
Ryan GoslingThe obvious, no-brainer choice. He can play slick and charming as Bruce (as seen in Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love) and intense and violent (Drive, The Gangster Squad.) Gosling has the edge and almost sinister charm (like Sean Connery in his early 007 films) in every role. I’m in conflict with my myself – Gosling is my top pick for Marvel’s potential Daredevil reboot – may the best studio win. Fans will win with such a talented actor like Gosling in any superhero role.
Charlie HunnamThe Sons of Anarchy star’s star could explode this summer in Pacific Rim. The talented actor can play the conflicted but violent anti-hero with a menacing gruff voice as seen on Sons of Anarchy. If Pacific Rim is a hit for Warner Brothers they could see Hunnam as a leading man to bring new energy to the Dark Knight.
Richard Madden My wild card pick. Madden had the charisma and intensity to become King of the North and inspire a war on Game of Thrones. I’m still in angry mourning for Robb Stark!
Batman #18 courtesy DC Comics
The Two That Could Have Been:
Armie Hammer was picked by George Miller for his potential Justice League movie and I could definitely see the towering actor in the role it’s likely Hammer will ride again in a sequel to The Lone Ranger.
Michael Fassbender– I LOVE him as Magneto and would never want to go back in time and erase cinematic history but can’t you see Fassbender as Bruce Wayne?!
The One That Won’t Happen But…
Viggo Mortensen as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns
The Dark Knight Rises one sheet courtesy Warner Brothers
It’s hard to believe the Christian Bale as Batman era is over. You can now watch The Dark Knight Rises in your own home. Christopher Nolan’s final chapter of his brooding Batman trilogy features a broken Bruce Wayne, a terrorist with ties to the first Batman film and a seductive cat burglar who inspires and betrays the Dark Knight. I would love to see Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine nominated for their amazing performances. Christopher Nolan and his entire team of artists deserve every accolade and award possible. No matter how award season turns out – he will have the eternal love of comic book fans.
The Dark Knight Trilogy collects Christopher Nolan’s entire epic: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Superhero films will never be the same.
The Dark Knight Rises teaser poster courtesy Warner Brothers
If you want to read a compelling story that inspired The Dark Knight Rises then check out Batman: No Man’s Land.
In The Dark Knight Rises Gotham City is cut off from the rest of the world and under siege from criminal factions thanks to Bane. In the comic books an earthquake rocks Gotham City in Cataclysm. The governor declares the city uninhabitable and orders everyone to leave. Those left behind in No Man’s Land are caught in the turf war between Gotham’s biggest and new crime lords. Batman and his family (Catwoman, Robin, Batgirl, Nighwing) are the only protection for those stranded.
The big difference in the comic book storyline is Bane is on a mission for Superman villain Lex Luthor. The Joker plays a critical role in the finale of the crossover in a showdown that affects Commissioner Gordon. This storyline featured many top writers (Chuck Dixon, Greg Rucka, Dennis O’Neill) at the top of their game.
courtesy Warner Brothers
Anne Hathaway won huge praise from director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale for her performance as Selena Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan even said Hathaway’s Selena Kyle deserved the opportunity to star in a Catwoman solo film. Bale reportedly said that Hathaway “has the toughest job on the film because the Catwoman role has been defined previously.”
Catwoman: Nine Lives of Femme Fatale Poster by Brian Bolland courtesy DC Comics
Catwoman is one of the most iconic female characters in comic book history. I was inspired to collect some of Catwoman’s greatest “cuts” as the world waits to see how Christopher Nolan and Anne Hathaway will portray her in The Dark Knight Rises.
Television: As a little kid I raced off the school bus so I didn’t miss a moment of the Batman television show. I loved Julie Newmar as Catwoman. The dramatic purrs on words were part of the show’s camp but Newmar embodied the conflicted bad girl you hope would change her ways for Batman. Eartha Kitt only played Catwoman three times but what an impression. Kitt played Catwoman with a harder, dangerous edge. That cat would do a lot worse than scratch!
Movies: Michelle Pfeifer’s Catwoman was a deadly kitten with a whip in Batman Returns. Tim Burton’s origin for Selina was very different from the comic books but Pfeiffer made it work. This secretary turned feminist avenger was a deadly mix of empowerment and sex appeal.
Comics: Bob Kane created The Cat as a socialite turned catburglar villain for Batman. Selina Kyle developed into an antihero with love/hate romantic relationship with Batman. In the 1990’s writers took Selina’s character into dark territory. Modern creators interpretted her disguise and life of crime as a response to a history of abuse. Selina became an avenger of women on the streets of Gotham City.
Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street courtesy DC Comics
The Dark End of the Street, Crooked Little Town, Relentless, and Wild Ride show Catwoman as a vigilante antihero in modern crime noir tales. During this era Selina takes in an ex-hooker and junkie as a protogee in her war on crime. The look in these collections are similar to the style Anne Hathaway has in photos on the set of The Dark Knight Rises.
Trail of the Catwoman marked Selina’s return to her infamous persona after a long absence with a new costume. Selina hunts a serial killer targetting the streetwalkers of Gotham City.
When in Rome is Catwoman versus the Falcone crime family. This is a sexier colorful tale of the cat burglar on a mysterious adventure in Italy.
Hush is one of my all time favorite Batman epics. The Dark Knight and Catwoman’s twisted relationship is at this most romantic and intense during this year long mystery in which a new villian uses Batman’s greatest enemies as pawns in a mind twisting game. Jim Lee’s Catwoman is perfect.
Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes courtesy DC Comics
I have to give Adam Hughes praise for his portraits of Catwoman. Cover Run includes many of his iconic DC covers starring the femme fatale.
Now the wait begins for the actor who will portray Batman in a future Justice League film but no one will forget Christian Bale and the daring vision of Christopher Nolan.
The Dark Knight Rises one sheet courtesy Warner Brothers
As we count down to the release of The Dark Knight RisesChristopher Nolan made a big revelation about how his Batman Trilogy could have been very different. According to The Playlist Nolan said Heath Ledger was one of many actors he interviewed for the role of Bruce Wayne for Batman Begins.
“He was quite gracious about it, but he said, ‘I would never take a part in a superhero film.’ ” Nolan said. The filmmaker said he thinks Ledger changed his mind eventually because, “I explained to him what I wanted to do with ‘Batman Begins’ and I think maybe he felt I achieved it.”
The story goes on to report that because of Batman Begins Ledger signed on the play the Joker in The Dark Knight without a completed script. Nolan gave his star A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and books on the paintings of Francis Bacon to prepare for the role of the Joker.
I have always believed what makes Christian Bale so good as Bruce Wayne is that he would also be perfect as the Joker. If you saw Bale in his pre Batman Begins roles in American Psycho, The Machinist and Reign of Fire (even the Shaft remake) you could see the man knows how to tap into rage and madness.
The Dark Knight Rises one sheet courtesy Warner Brothers
The Dark Knight Rises is the end of Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s Batman trilogy. Warner Brothers will likely reboot the iconic hero again at some point with a new actor in the role.
“I’m very intrigued to see another interpretation of it at this point,” he tells MTV News.
Bale reflected on the past film versions of the Caped Crusader.
“There have been many wonderful ones,” he said. “Adam West did it fantastically, spoofing it. I’m sincere. He really did.”
The character’s ability to change has the Oscar-winning actor excited to see what’s next.
“So it would be very interesting to see what someone else does with the character,” he said. “I’d be the first one there to watch.”
Opinion: I always said one of the reasons Christian Bale made such a great Bruce Wayne was that he would make an excellent Joker. Just look at American Psycho. I would hope the Court of Owls storyline might tempt Nolan and Bale to return for one more film…but a geek can dream.
I’m trying to keep this post spoiler free so if seems vague I’m trying to not give away the ending of The Dark Knight Rises or The Court of Owls.
How do you top Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale? I humbly suggest Warner Brothers wait at least 7 or more years and give Mr. Nolan the Court of Owls epic by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo for inspiration.
As I read each chapter of this dark epic I often thought how Nolan would translate the conspiracies and mind games of Snyder’s storylines and Capullo’s Owl designs to the big screen.
While the other New 52 Bat books focused on classic rogues Snyder created a dark new enemy and history for Bruce Wayne and Gotham City. The Court of Owls is a secret society that had been manipulating Gotham City for decades. The Owls have a ruthless assassin known as the Talon. The secret society has their talons gripped into the Wayne family and Gotham City history.
Batman #8 courtesy DC Comics
The storyline included Night of the Owls crossover. The Court unleashed an army of Talons on Gotham all at once with specific targets. While Bruce was under siege in the Batcave he called on his Batman family to prevent the Court’s deadly agenda. Only Bruce could ultimately uncover and face the mastermind behind the Court. A revelation that rocked the Wayne family legacy and Bruce’s memory of his parents.
In The Dark Knight Trilogy Bruce learned you must become a symbol and anyone could be Batman. In this potential film Bruce returns to see the young heroes inspired by him and he must confront a symbol of evil and the Bat’s natural enemy – the Owl.
Prepare to howl and purr for the Bat & the Cat! Take a look at Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway as Batman and Catwoman on the upcoming cover of Entertainment Weekly’s Summer Preview issue.
From the upcoming story it looks like director Christopher Nolan treated Selina Kyle as a camp-free world-class criminal in The Dark Knight Rises.
“She has a very strong way of protecting herself and those she cares about, which implies an underlying darkness.” Hathaway says she prepared for the role by reading the comics and studying the moves of Hedy Lamarr and Jean Harlow, the two screen legends that inspired the original conception of the comic book villainess.”
For more of the story here’s the EW link and here’s my picks for great Catwoman stories you might enjoy.
The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Poster from thedarkknightrises.com. Courtesy: Warner Brothers Entertainment
The Dark Knight Rises brings Bane back on the big screen for Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film. Fans speculate that Bane will break the Bat like he did in the famous Knightfall storyline.
Star Christian Bale apparently used another famous Batman story to prepare for his final film in the cape and cowl. Bale tells the New York Daily News that Batman: Year One by Frank Miller was crucial to understanding the role.
“Suddenly, I found Batman has so many issues, he’s not a healthy individual, this is somebody that is doing good, but he’s right on the verge of doing bad,” Bale told the Daily News. “He’s got that killer within him that he’s desperately not trying to let off his leash. And that’s what I always return to.”
This image gave me a geeky chill! Christian Bale as Batman on the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly! The feature will include a new Christopher Nolan interview. The online tease features what some Batfans might consider at spoiler so just in case….
ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
POSSIBLE SPOILER!
– Nolan tells EW that the last chapter of his cinematic saga explores the ramifications of The Dark Knight’s chilling climax, in which Batman and super-cop Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) hatch a conspiracy to cover up the sins of Gotham City’s so-called “white knight,” the late Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart). Nolan also discusses the potential political subtext of Rises.
I posted earlier that I was curious about why Bane was holding a photo of Harvey Dent in the Empire Magazine story…maybe we’ll receive a new clue to that puzzle this week.
