Christopher Nolan has been known for many great things since "Batman Begins" hit the scene. He's been touted as one of the best directors to ever bring a comic book to life. Don't believe me? Spend a week on this site, read people's comments, and you'll see just how high most fans hold him. I can't disagree. The guy makes fantastic movies, and as far as raw talent goes, he's got it in spades.
Nolan made unbelievably good Batman movies. "Batman Begins" showed fans that a Batman movie could take place in a grounded reality, and that it wasn't just for the kids anymore. I remember sitting in the theatre watching "Begins," and some parents were walking their little kids out of the theatre because the hallucination scenes from Scarecrow's toxins were too much. For the first time I felt like I was watching a Batman movie geared more toward adults than kids...and I loved every second of it.
Then Nolan gave us "The Dark Knight." Personally, I like "Begins" better, but I digress. Many people have come to think of TDK as the best CBM of all time. We got more of the dark feel that most people loved about "Begins," but Nolan upped the ante by introducing the Joker. This movie was even more brutal and violent then the first. Again, Nolan hit a home run, no, a grand slam.
That same summer, something else happened in the CBM genre of movies. That something was called Marvel Studios, John Favreau, and "Iron Man." In "Iron Man," we learned for the first time that Marvel was planning on creating individual character films that all lead to the Avengers. It didn't take long before people started wondering and hoping that DC would follow suit.
We've all read the news that DC is gearing up for a JLA movie. Unfortunately, we've also been told that it may not feature Batman and Superman. Why? In my opinion, it's because Nolan has the reigns to Batman and Superman. With Batman 3 on the horizon, we all know that it will be Nolan's final installment. He has been very adamant about his Batman existing in a world with no other heroes. He has also stated the same thing about his upcoming Superman film; no other heroes will exist in Superman's movie world. What a shame.
I'm going out on a limb here, but I think it's safe to say that MOST fans want a unified DC movie universe. I say that based on comments on this site, so I don't want to hear anyone saying I'm putting words in people's mouths. Do people want to see a unified DC movie universe without Superman and Batman? Can something like that even happen without ripping the space-time continuum apart? It would be the end of all that is, right? Obviously, I'm being sarcastic, but think about it.
Yes, Nolan is a fantastic talent that made some very good Batman movies, and the Superman movie will undoubtedly be just as great. But is this the guy people really want handling two of the most important DC character movies? A guy that will not agree to let them be in a universe with other heroes? When you look at the big picture, would you rather have Nolan helming these individual movies, even though you know it cripples them from taking part in JLA? Personally, I'm not sure. I'm torn between Nolan's talent, and his stubbornness. I also have to question DC's intentions. Nolan is about to be done with Batman, which COULD possibly free him up for JLA. But then they turn around and put him on Superman. So in effect, we're back at square one, only now it's with Superman and not Batman. It's almost like DC doesn't want them in a JLA movie, no matter what. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Anyway, as you can see from the length of this article, I could go on about this all day. So I'll go ahead and wrap it up. Thanks to everyone for reading this, and I hope to see you're thoughts!
CDB