Entertainment Today and Beyond

BATMAN 3 status Clearly up in the Air

The very reliable Batman-On-Film is reporting that there has been practically no movement on a the third entry in Warner Bros current Batman franchise and director Christopher Nolan is not even signed to helm the third film. His series started with “Batman Begins” and left off with “The Dark Knight”. According to the article written by Bill Ramsey, since there is no script or even story ideas, fans should not expect another entry in the franchise until 2012 or 2013 at the earliest. According to his source for this conclusion, Ramey’s guy says, “the death of Heath Ledger rocked Mr. Nolan hard,” and the project is back to square one with a virtually non-existent story due to the initial planned inclusion of the Joker in the third film.

It has been reported that Warner Bros does have a short list of directors that they would call on if Nolan walked a way from the property. Zach Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) is one of them. The question I have is – does Nolan owe it to the studio and the legion of Batman fans to finish his work as a trilogy and do a third film? Well you know what Rocky said to Paulie in Rocky 3 – “Nobody owes anybody anything; they do because they want to do”. Personally I really don’t agree with that statement in this case but if he walks he walks. I, like many, would be greatly disappointed and hope for the best but whoever took over would have enormous shoes to fill, especially given the last installment. The Dark Knight was an amazing film, ending with Batman on the run and more story to tell. In many ways, if some other director takes over the franchise it would be like David Fincher (an unknown at the time) taking over the Alien franchise from James Cameron after his masterpiece “Aliens”. You simply couldn’t make a better Alien film than what Cameron created with Aliens. History has proven that to be true. The person who would take over if Nolan leaves would have to not only have the talent but the balls to do so! It’s one high mountain to try and climb.

It would truly be a high pressure task for whoever does it especially if it wasn’t a high profile director like Michael Mann (Heat). Some are already throwing that name into the ring and it would be an interesting choice. The only person I feel confident could really pull it off would be James Cameron, but I doubt he would want to. However, he was preparing to do Spiderman at one point almost a decade ago so you never know if this genre would spark his interest – especially with the challenge of a Batman film. Sam Raimi (Spiderman) would also be a person I would seriously consider because he knows the genre and he’s a terrific talent who’s very creative.

Before Nolan took over the reigns in 2005 with Batman Begins I would have thought about the possibility of Joe Dante (Gremlins) but not now as Nolan has upped the quality so high he would be a major gamble for the studio and that’s not going to happen. As for Zach Snyder, I like him and respect his work. His “Dawn of the Dead” was a quality film and I think he did a great job on “Watchmen” ( I never read the graphic novel but really liked the film) but can he pull off what Nolan started? I simply can’t answer that question until he does it. He certainly can’t rely on any slow motion shots in a Batman film. It just wouldn’t work in that universe – at least I wouldn’t like it.

Being a businessman myself I find it hard to believe that Nolan and the studio don’t have at least a handshake deal Particularly since he’s directing his sci-fi thriller “Inception” for the studio with a budget close to 200 million. Do you really sit in a room and close that deal and not discuss his status on Batman? Again, after negotiating many deals myself in another industry, it just doesn’t seem possible but you never know.
Another point – with or without Nolan would you consider having another actor play the Joker even if the character plays a smaller role in this next film. I say that’s a real tough choice. Initially I would have said no, but now that time has passed I think I would consider it. I fully understand the circumstances of this situation are different than say Jodie Foster passing on the Clarice Starling character and being replaced by Julianne Moore in The Silence of the Lambs sequel Hannibal. While Foster simply decided to take a pass, Heath Ledger’s departure is a very different story even though life does go on and the Joker is a central figure in the Batman universe. I would think by 2013 fans would understand and be ready for another actor to play the clown prince of crime. It’s no doubt an incredible act to follow but eventually The Joker will be back on the big screen. The point is will Chris Nolan finish what he started? I really do hope so and I’m prepared to wait until he’s ready, but will the studio? Certainly not forever…

June 18, 2009 Posted by Chuck | And Beyond - Trailers & News | new Batman installment | 2 Comments