The world is waiting to see Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight under the direction of Zack Snyder. The shadow of Christian Bale’s performance is Christopher Nolan’s trilogy looms large after what many fans consider a perfect ending for the hero. Now an even darker Knight will emerge to challenge Superman.
Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises courtesy Warner Brothers
Will Anne Hathaway work for her The Dark Knight Rises director again? Deadline reports the Oscar winner is close to joining the cast of Christopher Nolan’s next project: Interstellar.
The actress who played Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Nolan’s Batman finale will star opposite Matthew McConaughey. Nolan is working on a script now.
Christopher Nolan says Man of Steel is not exactly like The Dark Knight Trilogy but starring Superman. Nolan is the Executive Producer of the Superman reboot. Zach Snyder is directing. Nolan tells The Playlist.
“Well, somewhat,” he said when asked if Superman fits into the brand of standalone superhero universe we’ve come to know from him. “But I wouldn’t want people to think we’re doing for Superman what we did for Batman.”
“It’s very much Zack’s film and I think people are going to love what he’s done,” he continued. “I think it’s really remarkable to take on that character. Superman is a completely different character than Batman. So you can’t in anyway use the same template. But David Goyer had this, I thought, brilliant way to make Superman relatable and relevant for his audience. Zack has built on that and I think it’s incredible what he’s putting together. He’s got a lot of finishing to do on that. Superman is the biggest comic book character of them all and he needs the biggest possible movie version which is what Zack’s doing. It’s really something.”
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.
How did Batman influence the latest James Bond adventure?
Skyfall is already scoring great reviews. Director Sam Mendes tells IndieWire he was “directly inspired” by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy.
“In terms of what [Nolan] achieved, specifically ‘The Dark Knight,’ the second movie, what it achieved, which is something exceptional. It was a game changer for everybody,” he explained about how it influenced his approach.
“We’re now in an industry where movies are very small or very big and there’s almost nothing in the middle,” he continued. “And it would be a tragedy if all the serious movies were very small and all the popcorn movies were very big and have nothing to say. And what Nolan proved was that you can make a huge movie that is thrilling and entertaining and has a lot to say about the world we live in, even if, in the case with ‘The Dark Knight,’ it’s not even set in our world. If felt like a movie that was about our world post-9/11 and played on our fears and discussed our fears and why they existed and I thought that was incredibly brave and interesting. That did help give me the confidence to take this movie in directions that, without ‘The Dark Knight,’ might not have been possible. Because also, people go, ‘Wow, that’s pretty dark,’ but then you can point to ‘Dark Knight’ and go ‘Look at that – that’s a darker movie, and it took in a gazillion dollars!’ That’s very helpful. There’s also that thing – it’s clearly possible to make a dark movie that people want to see.”
Skyfall hits U.S. theaters November 9th.
Christopher Nolan has expressed how a classic 007 film influenced Inception and his potential involvement with the Bond franchise. You can read that here.
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.
Batman amps up his arsenal to fight Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. “The Bat” is Bruce’s plane/chopper hybrid debuting in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film. The director spoke with SFX Magazine about Batman’s crime fighting tech.
“Batman has always been the most grounded of superheroes because he is just a man whose only identifiable superpower is extraordinary wealth, really. He has resources through Morgan Freeman’s character, Lucius Fox, and his control of Wayne Enterprises, to have all kinds of technology at his disposal. In this film, we explore some interesting new gadgets – some quite startling things, I think. But, at the same time, we tried to never lose of sight of the balance between the technology he uses and his basic humanity – the drive and commitment to justice that comes from him as a man.”
The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th. You may have noticed on the sidebar of this site that you can buy tickets early via Fandango (top of sidebar) and collector gift cards (choose from Batman, Catwoman or Bane) for your Bat-friend (bottom of sidebar.)
