Matt Reeves To Direct The Upcoming Batman Solo

[Boom]

As a fan of the Nolan films, I have to say that I was disappointed that his Gotham City was basically just Chicago in TDK, and then New York City and Pittsburgh in TDKR. While he filmed in Chicago for BB, the inclusion of the Narrows at least gave Gotham a bit more character in that film. His Gotham became a bit sterile after that.

I'd love Reeves to go crazy with his Gotham. Use a combination of on-location shooting, miniatures, bigatures, and CG backdrops to create a unique city.

 

[FunkMiller]

As a fan of the Nolan films, I have to say that I was disappointed that his Gotham City was basically just Chicago in TDK, and then New York City and Pittsburgh in TDKR. While he filmed in Chicago for BB, the inclusion of the Narrows at least gave Gotham a bit more character in that film. His Gotham became a bit sterile after that.

I'd love Reeves to go crazy with his Gotham. Use a combination of on-location shooting, miniatures, bigatures, and CG backdrops to create a unique city.

Yes, I totally agree with you on that. If there is a criticism to be levelled at Nolan, it's that he occasionally strips the latter two Dark Knight movies of their comic book origins a little too much. The bat suit being the best example of that. Mind you, Snyder's Gotham is even more characterless than Nolan's, so we really do need someone to represent the city better next time out.

 

[2kt09]

Snyder's Gotham in BVS was completely nondescript. It looked virtually identical to his Metropolis, which was also devoid of personality. And it's not because they were going for a "grounded" replica of real life cities. Nolan did that and his Gotham had personality. Snyder never properly established his. Hopefully Reeves can portray a Gotham with character of its own.

Gotham was portrayed like a slum based on what has been shown.
Up to Reeves if he wants to infuse the familiar Gothic sensibilities into that.

Metropolis would be like Manhattan, whereas Gotham would be one of the 4 other boroughs.
It takes a ferry to get Staten Island if you're traveling from Manhattan.
Wayne seems to live far out & away from any suburbs as you would on Eastern Long Island.

 

[BatLobster]

It's weird...I definitely would love to see a fully realized, fanciful version of Gotham in the next film, but at the same time I don't think the location shooting necessarily hurt the Nolan movies. Like, think of the prologue to TDK. That shot of Ledger standing on a Chicago street corner with his back turned is iconic to me. I know it's just Chicago in the middle of the day and it feels like of like it could be any city, but something about that just adds to the immediacy and tension of that moment, for me. That said, I do wish we could've returned to the Narrows in the sequels.

Anyway, I definitely agree that the opportunity is there for Reeves to do a more Gotham-y Gotham. Using all the techniques Boom mentioned to bring it to life would be amazing.

 

[idiot09]

Snyder seems to have a natural aversion to establishing shots. He just crashes into an interior with no sense of providing geography most of the time. It's one of the most jarring and annoying things about his film making.

Based on the theatrical BvS cut, yes. Man of Steel and Watchmen had a lot of establishing shots. BvS Ultimate Cut added a few establishing shots of Gotham, Metropolis(after Superman's death, those scenes were beautiful, search for them in YT) and Kent Farm.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

It's weird...I definitely would love to see a fully realized, fanciful version of Gotham in the next film, but at the same time I don't think the location shooting necessarily hurt the Nolan movies. Like, think of the prologue to TDK. That shot of Ledger standing on a Chicago street corner with his back turned is iconic to me. I know it's just Chicago in the middle of the day and it feels like of like it could be any city, but something about that just adds to the immediacy and tension of that moment, for me. That said, I do wish we could've returned to the Narrows in the sequels.

Anyway, I definitely agree that the opportunity is there for Reeves to do a more Gotham-y Gotham. Using all the techniques Boom mentioned to bring it to life would be amazing.

Completely agree about that shot, but in general I prefer the Gotham of BB to that of TDK or TDKR. Although overall I preferred the Gotham of Burton's movies (despite how 'studio-bound' it felt in BR).

 

[Guts]

Gotham was portrayed like a slum based on what has been shown.
Up to Reeves if he wants to infuse the familiar Gothic sensibilities into that.

Metropolis would be like Manhattan, whereas Gotham would be one of the 4 other boroughs.
It takes a ferry to get Staten Island if you're traveling from Manhattan.
Wayne seems to live far out & away from any suburbs as you would on Eastern Long Island.

As a person that lives in Detroit I kinda feel that was what Snyder was going for. In BvS it was pointed out that the location where Batman and Superman fought each other was abandoned, the real location where they shot it is surrounded by at quite a few abandoned buildings.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

As a person that lives in Detroit I kinda feel that was what Snyder was going for . In BvS it was pointed out that the location where Batman and Superman fought each other was abandoned, the real location where they shot it is surrounded by at quite a few abandoned buildings.

Thanks for those pics

 

[2kt09]

As a person that lives in Detroit I kinda feel that was what Snyder was going for. In BvS it was pointed out that the location where Batman and Superman fought each other was abandoned, the real location where they shot it is surrounded by at quite a few abandoned buildings.

Really checks out.
Haven't gone out to Detroit before, but some parts of Pennsylvania are probably the worst I've come across.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Still not a big fan of how close Gotham and Metropolis are in this universe geographically.

For all intents and purposes in reality they'd just be seen as one single metro area.

 

[Brother Jack]

Nah

Grounded, "realistic", and based on real cities is a personality. It may not be one you enjoy, but it is a particular design aesthetic that sets it apart from other interpretations. The thing of it is, Nolan went deep in exploring and portraying that space, which is why you don't see any location repeated except for a few. Across the three films you get a full spectrum of what his Gotham is. Snyder did not do that in BVS. I don't remember there being hardly any establishing wide shots of the city and the ones that were there were so dark and dingy you couldn't really get any detail.

Also, as fitting as the dilapidation of Detroit is, the idea that all of Gotham would still be an awful slum after Batman has been around for 20 years straight is very depressing.

 

[2kt09]

Still not a big fan of how close Gotham and Metropolis are in this universe geographically.

For all intents and purposes in reality they'd just be seen as one single metro area.

I get that.

It's just the beauty of NYC, I guess.
Almost everyone not from here or in the know keep thinking one borough is The Big Apple.
As soon as you're out of that urban jungle, you'll end up in very distinct suburbs.
The Bronx and Brooklyn are typically thought of as the troubled places to be.

I suppose that contrast seemed easiest to do with 2 different cities.

 

[idiot09]

Also, as fitting as the dilapidation of Detroit is, the idea that all of Gotham would still be an awful slum after Batman has been around for 20 years straight is very depressing.

"Criminals are like weeds, you take one out, another one takes its place".

 

[Grommers]

Yeah, Batman's life in general has always been incredibly depressing, I always think "return of the joker" or the episode "Epilogue" really made me realize how lonely Bruce would eventually become for many years.

It's odd I have such an odd crush on the guy, despite knowing his life sucks because of the expense of trying to be an insanely good person.

That's where I found it Interesting where Nolans' Batman took him, and why I think TDKR (Rises), was somewhat of a let down, I remember BB & TDK, was my favorite because it really felt like Batman would be doing it forever, it was his burden to bare.


Now, the new 52 animated films have brought in and made a much bigger impact of the "bat family" and showing this is Bruce's grounding, his purpose to live, and vice versa, they are a support system for each other, even despite Bat's dark ways.

I do get the feeling Reeves will really tap into this based on his comments, and I imagine "The Batman" will be about him re-uniting the "Bat family"


I really hope Death Stroke can stay as the villains, and there isn't a "main villain" in it. I think there's ample opportunity to have Leto re-prise his role, and develop his character along with Margot Robbie's Harleen Quinzel & Black Mask.

All which I think could have ample story related to the Bat Family.

The joker could be a reason the last Robin died, with Nightwing leaving due to Bruce's excessive use of force (seen in B vs S), Black Mask can be the connection to Bat Girl & I hope they go for Tim Drake but if its not and its Damian Wayne, Death stroke can easily be his mentor.

With Black Mask hiring a hit on the joker from death Stroke, I'd love to see Death Stroke show up to kill Joker, something we haven't really gotten in comic book films is a battle between villains where our Hero is in line to stop both.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Yeah, Batman's life in general has always been incredibly depressing, I always think "return of the joker" or the episode "Epilogue" really made me realize how lonely Bruce would eventually become for many years.

Rewatches of Batman Beyond certainly made me see the Batman of B:TAS/JL/JLU in a new - and sad - light.

 

[FunkMiller]

Still not a big fan of how close Gotham and Metropolis are in this universe geographically.

For all intents and purposes in reality they'd just be seen as one single metro area.

Agreed. They are cities with two distinct personalities. You simply can't achieve that with them being so close together. Metropolis should be a good place to live, and Gotham most certainly shouldn't. They should have different weather systems, topographies, social structures, economies, ethnic make-ups, political and environmental infrastructure.

There was no good reason to sit them that close together, other than for that one shot of the bat signal when Lex is ranting at Superman. Snyder has once again boxed future film makers into a creative corner with his decisions.

They can't really do much about it now, other than ignore it as best they can, and try to give both cities a personality of their own, without referencing each other. Although quite how Reeves is going to get around the issue of 'why doesn't Superman just fly over the water to help Batman' in his movie is anyone's guess.

 

[Astro13Zombie]

Although quite how Reeves is going to get around the issue of 'why doesn't Superman just fly over the water to help Batman' in his movie is anyone's guess

That's the biggest problem I have with it personally.
I think everything else can worked with well enough.
The two cities can be given their personalities and be as different as they need to.
But superman being close enough to hear the crime in Gotham is....ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[THE WOLF]

Gotham is in New Jersey, Metropolis is in Delaware. It's that way in the comics.

 

[THE WOLF]

BvS Gotham city concept art

 

[idiot09]

That's the biggest problem I have with it personally.
I think everything else can worked with well enough.
The two cities can be given their personalities and be as different as they need to.
But superman being close enough to hear the crime in Gotham is....ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Imagine a scene like in one of the movies. Its not as if Superman cant swoop to any part of the world in a couple of mins. As if having Gotham a few hundred miles away would keep Superman away. I always thought its a matter of mutual respect, they keep to their territories.But I can totally see Batfleck just saying the above thing to Supes. Would clear it up as well.

Edit: I love bearded Bats, and I also vote they have the Batman movie set in winter. Would be beautiful.

 

[terry78]

Superman is at heart, a suburbanite who just doesn't feel safe going to the hood.

 

[Guts]

Grounded, "realistic", and based on real cities is a personality. It may not be one you enjoy, but it is a particular design aesthetic that sets it apart from other interpretations. The thing of it is, Nolan went deep in exploring and portraying that space, which is why you don't see any location repeated except for a few. Across the three films you get a full spectrum of what his Gotham is. Snyder did not do that in BVS. I don't remember there being hardly any establishing wide shots of the city and the ones that were there were so dark and dingy you couldn't really get any detail.

Also, as fitting as the dilapidation of Detroit is, the idea that all of Gotham would still be an awful slum after Batman has been around for 20 years straight is very depressing.

Even Detroit has gotten better around the downtown area while its still very much the same in every other neighborhood. So you would think Bruce would try to do something unrelated to Batman to make Gotham better.

 

[FunkMiller]

Also, as fitting as the dilapidation of Detroit is, the idea that all of Gotham would still be an awful slum after Batman has been around for 20 years straight is very depressing.

Also, extremely stupid. No city is one big slum. Gotham has nice areas too. Where people like Falcone and Cobblepot live. There are plenty of rich, well to do Gotham neighbourhoods for Selina to prowl around in. Gotham is a grim place for many reasons, but it's not one giant ****hole.

 

[Boom]

BvS Gotham city concept art

All kinds of amazing.

 

[Guts]

Also, extremely stupid. No city is one big slum. Gotham has nice areas too. Where people like Falcone and Cobblepot live. There are plenty of rich, well to do Gotham neighbourhoods for Selina to prowl around in. Gotham is a grim place for many reasons, but it's not one giant ****hole.

Gotham probably wasn't one big slum but the only areas we did see in BvS were the slums and the seaport. There were travel guides released for BvS that mention plenty of places for tourists to visit.