With Christopher Nolan’s epic ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy now having come to an end and official confirmation via David S. Goyer about it being separate from the new DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU), Warner Brothers have found themselves in a tight situation involving Batman. Not only do they have to worry about bringing about a new iteration of Batman – one who is more in line to be on a team of gods – but also have to reach the bar set by the Nolan films. From a critical standpoint, this presents a bigger challenge than making a Superman movie that one ups the Donner films – which critics and likeminded audience members cannot seem to get past. Nevertheless, here is my idea to tackling this situation.
Overview of What’s Been Done Before In order for the new Batman to hold a place in the audience’s hearts, new elements and a new story have to be told that cannot be subject to comparisons to what has come before. Let’s take a look at some major elements that have been portrayed in Batman movies since Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) up until The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Origin Batman Begins (2005) was literally – as JeremyJahns put it – the CPR of a franchise. Nolan and company successfully redefined this new era of CBMs and with it they gave us a pretty good origin story for the Caped Crusader. Seeing as ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy is a point of comparison to almost all CBMs nowadays in everyone’s eyes, it’s a safe bet to say that moviegoers are already aware of the iconic murder of the Waynes and what followed in its aftermath.
The Joker Again this point brings us to the second film in the Nolan trilogy, The Dark Knight (2008). In what was – arguably – the greatest CBM of all time, came an even greater villain in the form of Heath Ledger’s Joker. As such, an attempt to re-introduce the character on the big screen would draw relentless comparisons to Ledger’s performance which could ultimately hurt this reboot. It is only wise to give it another couple years before making such a move.
Let this also be a reminder that when Ledger was first cast as the Clown Prince of Crime, there was much dismay and countless concerns over rivalling the performance of Jack Nicholson’s Joker in Batman ’89. It was our good fortune that Ledger more than delivered, but there is no guarantee that such a feat can be achieved again with an even higher standard established. Then why take the risk?
Robin Much like Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns (1992) and Nolan’s trilogy, the focus was kept primarily on Batman. Even when Nolan decided to give a nod to Robin, it was through an original character that didn’t take away from the central character himself – Batman. Robin did, however, make appearances in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, which were both failures in the eyes of CBM fans and even general movie audiences. There were too many characters that the story needed to flesh out which hindered the final product not to mention the extreme campiness of the characters relationship with Kilmer’s and Clooney’s Batman – WB would be wise to not include these side characters in the very first post-Nolan Batman movie.
Proposed Solution Step 1 - Introduce Batman in Justice League
With Superman now established by Man of Steel (2013), it's only a matter of time before other non-Batman DC properties get the green light for the big screen in WB’s lead up to the Justice League. Instead of receiving his own pre-JL film, which will not allow the memory and impact of Nolan’s trilogy to fade a little, Batman should instead BE INTRODUCED in Justice League similar to how Martian Manhunter was introduced in Bruce Timm’s Justice League The Animated Series (2003-2006). His character should be mysterious and intriguing enough to leave viewers yearning to see more of this new spin on the character in his own solo film – in the same sense that was the Hulk in the Avengers (2012).
Step 2 - Solo Batman film post-JL
In this film, it should be established that Batman is a couple years into his career at this point similar to the hit 2009 video game – Batman: Arkham Asylum. One element that SHOULD return in this reboot is Goyer’s non-linear flashback storytelling technique – albeit streamlined. What does that mean exactly? Well for one, Man of Steel already used this style of storytelling and to use it again would only make the film feel repetitive and a ‘copy’ of not only MOS but also Batman Begins. While pondering over this dilemma, the answer came to me when I realized the key to using flashbacks in this film lies in the villain, which will be discussed later on in this article.
The focus of this film should be around the idea of ‘What if Batman quit?’ It may sound like a slap across the face, but it’s actually been done before with marvelous results! This is where I took inspiration from the episode titled “Perchance to Dream” from the award-winning ‘Batman the Animated Series’. To recap for readers who have no clue where I’m going with this, Bruce Wayne wakes up one day to realize that his parents were never killed and he never became Batman. The episode delves into Bruce Wayne’s deepest desires to lead a normal life where he has a family and the persona of Batman was NEVER a part of his life. Eventually, being the detective he is, Wayne is able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and get back to reality (For more information click
here).I believe this episode on its own has all the right plot elements that can be translated onto the big screen to make a compelling Batman story that explores the themes of family, betrayal, purpose of life and Batman’s inner torment to maybe hang up the cowl.
Now what purpose would the flashbacks serve? In order to avoid a 4 hour film, the flashbacks will retell Batman’s origin, and visit key moments from his early years including moments from Justice League at appropriate times in the movie. This not only provides the audience an understanding/refresher on Batman’s origins and his ‘year one’, but will also seamlessly examine the aftermath and fallout of the events that transpired in Justice League – from Batman’s perspective of course. The really cool thing in this situation is that the flashbacks could actually mirror reality throughout the story. The revelation of his parents being alive all of a sudden can be offset with a flashback of what really happened to Bruce’s parents – an example of how the flashback sequences can be presented in a new fashion.
Step 3 - Consider The Villian
Of course, with any story you need to have the right villain. It seems this is the idea the people over at WB are going for as well according to Goyer’s statement on choosing the villain for Man of Steel. They tend to write the story first then decide upon which villain best suits the needs of the story.
Mad Hatter Taking him straight from the Batman episode mentioned earlier, the Mad Hatter is the perfect candidate who is capable of putting Batman in a situation like this. Hatter has been known throughout his comic history as a person who uses mind-controlling devices to torture or manipulate his victims. Furthermore, he hasn’t had a live screen debut at all in the 20+ of years of Batman movies we’ve received! If done correctly, a grounded and realistic interpretation of the Mad Hatter could very well be an effective substitute for the Joker. On the flip side however, you would need to come up with a convincing motive behind Hatter’s actions – which I’m sure can be thought of easily.
Bonus: Deathstroke The one problem with the aforementioned villain is that he does not pose a physical threat to Batman. To solve that, we could see various sequences where Batman goes head to head with the master assassin in his 'year one' flashback sequences similar to the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins. As an added bonus, a connection could be made to the Arrow universe with their Deathstroke – the possibilities are endless!
Regardless, there can be some really neat sequences in the film that test Batman’s limits both mentally and physically and maintain his power level that is established in Justice League.
Ending Remarks Well there you have it, my solution to the Batman problem. Admittedly, it sounds a lot simpler on paper than actually translating it into a coherent story on screen. However, with that being said, I do believe that this may truly be an innovative and new way of looking at the character that not only honours the movies that have come before but also allows a new take on one of the greatest superheroes of our time!