What's Next For Batman?

The Blog Jr. posted the following question on Facebook...

Anyone else who's seen Dark Knight Rises, anyone got any speculations on what the future may hold/what they would like to see happen?

Here is The Blog's response...

No speculation here. But, here is what I know for sure.

Christopher Nolan has stated that his story had a beginning, middle and end. And Christian Bale has said that he has played Batman for the last time.

This version is over. The next will be a full reboot. And there will be a reboot. Warner Brothers has confirmed that. But, it will be the vision of a different director and team. It will be a hard act to follow, the bar has been set high.

*SPOILER ALERT!!!!*

(I wouldn't mind seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "Robin" follow the path to Nightwing. But, Nolan would have to be on board and it doesn't look like that is going to happen. )



*END SPOILER*

When "Batman: Year One" which evolved into "Batman Begins"  was in development, WB was also considering a "Batman Beyond" movie.

I have heard it suggested that they should look to the "Arkham City" video game for inspiration for the next one. Not a bad idea.

This is speculation... but based on what I know, it is a pretty safe bet...

The next time Batman is on a movie screen, it will be in the long planned, but never quite gotten off the ground "Justice League" movie. With the success of "The Avengers" Warner is finally poised to press on with a JL movie.



A friend commented that he thought that "Rises" Selina Kyle was "too nice."

The Blog responded...

Since the late 1980's (in the comic books) Catwoman is more of an anti-hero than a villain. Batman doesn't approve of her methods or flexible ethics, but they are working on the same side. In fact, in a couple of incarnations, The Huntress is the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.

(I don't know if it is available on YouTube, Hulu or Netflix, but there was a short lived series on The WB network called "Birds of Prey." It took place in the not too distant future of Gotham City. It starred The Huntress, Black Canary and Oracle as the next generation of Gotham defenders. The main villain was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. Batman and The Joker made a few appearances. The Joker was played by the animated series voice of The Joker, Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill.) It seemed like a good idea at the time. I even tried to get hired to work on it! But, it only lasted one season.

The same friend expressed an interest in seeing Jim Carey reprise his role as "The Riddler."

The Blog answered...

As for Jim Carey returning as The Riddler... Wash your keyboard out with soap! The Joel Schumacher movies were... uhm... interesting. And his cast members worked in that context. But, now that Nolan has done the series justice, I would rather not see a return to the campiness of those films.

Whatever happens, we can be sure of one thing... Wherever there is The Batman, there will be The Joker. I don't envy the actor who will have to follow in Ledger's shadow. But someone will.

 And more, to The Blog Jr....

*ANOTHER SPOILER ALTERT!*

You are right, The Joker did not die in "The Dark Knight." Technically or otherwise. This posed a problem for Nolan. Did you notice that all of the villains from the trilogy made appearances in "Rises" but The Joker was not even mentioned? Nolan decided that that was the only way to handle it.

The one thing that I know for sure...

One of the great things about the Batman world is that it is a subject that lends itself well to reinvention. Whatever comes next, it will be worth seeing!