How to avoid rehashing elements from the Nolan Trilogy

[Bad Superman]

Yesss!!!

 

[Skrilla31]

One thing missing from Nolan's movies - I believe - was Bruce's psychotic nature. I mean I know it's kind of implied that a guy who dresses like a bat and fights crime has to be crazy, but the way those scenes were filmed in Begins... the way they were shot and the music he used... it was a bit too cookie cutter for my tastes. And if I'm being perfectly honest, to this day I'm not extremely fond of Christian Bale's portrayal. Very one note, almost flat even.

I feel like in the next incarnation, if they do decide to re-do the origin... they need to really make Bruce like a nutcase. A sympathetic nutcase, but a nutcase nonetheless. He doesn't do what he does because he wants to "show Gotham their city doesn't belong to the corrupt" or because he wants to "be a symbol". He does what he does because he's traumatized and he has an obsession with stopping bad people from doing bad things. More than anything, he needs to prevent what happened to him from happening to anyone else.

I want an almost Taxi Driver like vibe. Obviously not as dark, but definitely that vibe. When you start seeing Travis work out and you start to see him customize his own weapons, you really get the idea that this a deranged individual. Making his own dumbell bars out of paint cans and s***. This is a twisted man with an obsession. That's how Bruce should come across, but more noble obviously. But make no mistake, there's nothing normal about a billionaire who spends his days fashioning batarangs.

 

[metaphysician]

Or they could not, because Batman being insane is one of the more dubious and overdone elements from the bad old 90s. *rollseyes*

 

[Kiltak]

To be honest I think WB should stepped in and not allowed Nolan to go with the ending they did. I think it makes making doing a JLA movie that much more difficult.

I understand Nolan and crew did not want to do another one but he could have left it open for them to make more films. The way it ends it makes it hard to use Batman with out having to do another film to explain how Batman is in JLA.

Most comic book fans are not going to understand why he is in JLA when in The Dark Knight Rise he gives up being Batman and loose his fortune. This in my opinion will hurt the film.

If Nolan had left the film open where Bruce was still Batman they could easily build off of Nolan Batman. They could go in and set if few years after The Dark Knight Rises with a new actor playing role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. They could have done it before JLA film and do like they did with Marvel films which sets the stage for JLA. As it stands that is going to be rather difficult to do.

It's going to be hard to sell the next Batman film to the general public, it really will be.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

Well it's not Nolan's job to care about JL. That's WB's job, as you said. It's their folly, not Nolan's.

Also, I think selling a new Batman to the GA should be the inevitable reboot solo movie's job, not the JL movie's.

I don't think it should be too hard either. TAS did well; and that was rebooting a prior franchise that didn't even have an ending, needlessly taking it all the way back to the origin story.

Given the ending of TDKR, GA's (or at least a significant portion of them who saw the ending this way) would be expecting Batman to be rebooted in the future. That, plus if they don't redo the origin, I think they'll be fine (as long as the movie is good that is).

 

[metaphysician]

And if WB had insisted on any such thing, Nolan would have just not made the movie. Or worse, abandoned it partway through.

 

[shauner111]

I do agree that rebooted Bruce needs to be a nutcase. I think we need to feel like "he's awesome. and he has a point BUT this guy is out of his mind". This time he should never want out and I wanna see him going after random people in alleys from time to time.

 

[James Howlett]

1. Nutcase or not, he needs to be a genius.
2. He needs to do more detective work.
3. He needs to be an acrobat and athlete too along with a martial artist.
4. THIS IS A MUST: He needs WHITE EYES!!!t:

 

[brett66]

That's where I've always felt Michael Keaton's Batman was a success. He was obviously intense as ****, borderline psychotic in scenes like "You wanna get nuts!?", but he still came across as highly intelligent, sympathetic and, of course, heroic. To me, that's Batman- a deeply scarred individual who is constantly pushing himself and others to peak perfection as a way to "compensate" for the encroaching insanity, To keep himself from stepping across that line and becoming too much like the criminals he fights.
Bale did a fine job, the character was just written too much as a martyr for my tastes, I dunno.

 

[eon001]

Skimmed through the post's seems like were all in agreement about "no origins", but I want to go one step further.

Hit the ground running...
*Nightwing is in full swing,

*Batman is on his 3rd Robin, Tim Drake,

*Redhood Jason Todd is like a dirty little secret no one talks about.

*Set up and Ra's Al Ghul as villain, Talia, Lazarus pit (Part of Hoods origin and also a set up Damien Wayne for the end of the trilogy).

*No Joker as a villain (For the first few movies at least) Yea I know Redhood and Joker are a package deal, but Hoods origin can be told in flashbacks, reference's etc) lets give the other villains a chance. Where well over due for a creepy well done Riddler. Robin Williams channeling his One Hour Photo performance would be great for that.

*Ramp up the fantasy elements. Batman was getting to realistic for Batman himself. The idea of batman was looking stupid in the ultra realistic Nolan universe.

 

[metaphysician]

Eh, that's flooding a single movie with too many elements. Even if your rebooted setting does contain all of them, you'd want to cut away at least some of the ones that don't matter for the first movie's plot. Like, introduce the concept of multiple Robins, including the case with Jason Todd's outfit, but don't touch the Red Hood or go into too much detail about what Nightwing is up to. Then you can continue from there later on.

 

[shauner111]

Please no Red Hood, please no Al Ghul's. I don't want to see ANY of that in the reboot. If Bale's not coming back, it's going to be rebooted and im sure Bruce will be younger. So maybe Dick Grayson is already Robin or maybe Dick is only introduced in a sequel. But no Nightwing or multiple Robins for starters.

Make the first movie like Arkham Origins (Black Mask, Penguin) and make Arkham Asylum the sequel (Strange, Riddler, and other various rogues). Joker can have cameos, small roles throughout the new trilogy.

 

[brett66]

More and more now I want Black Mask and or Hugo Strange in a new film. I think it'd be a nice departure from anything we've in previous Bat films without going too fantastic initially. Although it'll probably just end up being Riddler and Penguin.

 

[Superwoman Prime]

lol at "Superman" and "Realisitic" in the same sentence

This is heavily-disguised arrogance. I wager the universe has at least a few surprises up its sleeve still.

 

[eon001]

Eh, that's flooding a single movie with too many elements. Even if your rebooted setting does contain all of them, you'd want to cut away at least some of the ones that don't matter for the first movie's plot. Like, introduce the concept of multiple Robins, including the case with Jason Todd's outfit, but don't touch the Red Hood or go into too much detail about what Nightwing is up to. Then you can continue from there later on.

No my ideas were not for a single movie, but I hear your point. I could get over no Red hood/Damine Wayne/Rah Gul. But I still think they Should already have a Robin in rotation and Nightwing should be fully established.
The dynamic worked really well in Young Justice season 2.
Remember were try to avoid rehashing Nolan elements, so they should take a risk's and include Robin. He's as big a part of the Batman Mytho's as the Joker.

 

[thorstone]

If rebooting Batman-- the easiest way to define it from previous Batman films is to set it in the 60s, design a mask which covers the whole face, use a stretchy material suit, and focus on detective driven crime stories.

 

[BigSams50]

Avoid rehashing elements of Nolan's trilogy? Get Richard Grayson and add more fantasy oriented villains

This. Especially the part about Grayson. Its about time i think he gets done right.

 

[titansupes]

Man, I would love to see a shot of a silhouette fight, ala Skyfall, on a stage in a creepy theatre with some pounding drums in the back.

Hell yes.

 

[Blake II]

As long as they use different villains such as The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Killer-Croc, Riddler, etc... and build up on a big name villain for the finale like The Joker, Bane, or Gul then they'll be fine.

 

[KangConquers]

I sometimes wonder if there's anything left to say with the Batman character. After seven movies, is there really anything to do other than episodic Batman vs. Villains? We've seen camp Batman (The 60s series, the Schumacker films) fantasy based Batman (the Burton films), grounded Batman (The Nolan films), is there any tone at this point that won't simply synthesize past movies?

 

[Bren]

Whatever happens, if joker isn't in the first one, I would love for him to need to be in Arkham for some reason (getting info?)...While creeping around he hears very muffled yet audible laughing. He stops, looks towards the cell but has to move on quickly.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

I sometimes wonder if there's anything left to say with the Batman character. After seven movies, is there really anything to do other than episodic Batman vs. Villains? We've seen camp Batman (The 60s series, the Schumacker films) fantasy based Batman (the Burton films), grounded Batman (The Nolan films), is there any tone at this point that won't simply synthesize past movies?

Every series has had areas where others have succeeded where they failed. A synthesis of ideas is almost always the best way to go. Anyway, I haven't seen an art deco piece, a period piece, anything that focuses on Batman as an Arthurian type figure.

There's plenty more to explore.

 

[shauner111]

I sometimes wonder if there's anything left to say with the Batman character. After seven movies, is there really anything to do other than episodic Batman vs. Villains? We've seen camp Batman (The 60s series, the Schumacker films) fantasy based Batman (the Burton films), grounded Batman (The Nolan films), is there any tone at this point that won't simply synthesize past movies?

I think a Batman Beyond would be extremely new for the franchise. Arkham Asylum, not just concept/plot (with many different villains all at the same time) but the tone...that's another fresh idea.

Burton did things that were more true to Batman, or had more in common with BTAS and Nolan did things that were spot on as well. But to combine them, would be something amazing. For example the gothic looking city of Burton's first movie but something that feels more like a real location (like Nolan's). Filming in places like Europe where you have this gothic architecture. It makes the city feel real but as if it's trapped in some period piece.

The black/grey classic suit. That whole look hasn't been done in live-action. It deserves a shot.

Taking things that audiences have seen throughout the 90s movies like the classic batmobile, Dick Grayson, villains like Riddler/Penguin/Freeze but approaching it with the seriousness of the modern Nolan films. While adding new villains, new gadgets, possibly 3D.

Some of those things don't sound new, just a combo of the past films, but when you combine them..it's a fresh take and it serves the Animated Series and the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm style a lot more.

His mind and fighting can be enhanced as well. More than the general audience has ever seen from Batman.

I do worry that the writing will be predictable though. Just a Batman vs a villain detective story every single movie. I would hate that. If it was all style and no substance or originality. There's always a chance they'll just bite Nolan's style or get really lazy. Im not interested in seeing that.

But there's a few different plots that they can choose from, to make it style AND substance. Fresh interpretations for a new generation.

 

[shauner111]

I think it's pretty simple too. If I was WB and nervous that I may give the greenlight to something that feels like a watered down Nolan style. Or a complete return to Burton's. I would try to kick things off with a bang.

I wouldn't leave anything for a sequel. I'd go all out with Arkham Asylum. If a sequel happens then there's villains to choose from, there's Graysons story modernized and taken seriously...there's ways to follow up the massive AA. But don't think about it until it happens. Go ALL the way with the first movie because you have to win over general audiences all over again, you have to try to win over the Nolan purists, the fans who want something extremely different and more fantasy. Arkham is the best way to do that. Plus it's really popular with the video game crowd.

Don't try to build up to an Arkham movie because a half-assed first movie could bomb. Don't do some Batman meets 1 or 2 new villains for the first time and tries to stop them. It's been done, it's boring.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I think the next movies should follow the Arkham games tone. It can have a gritty and some what realistic feel to it even with the fantastical villains like Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and Clayface. All of those villains I would love to see on film with Riddler, Penguin etc.