Jumping the gun: Batman in 2012

[Eldezar]

http://paralleluniverse.msn.com/features/movies/the-wrap/dark-knight-sequel-coming-in-2012/story/?GT1=28140

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/fullcredits#cast

The only official confirmation is the movie will be released July 20th, 2 days off of the release date for The Dark Knight. What I was interested in was the speculation of the main villain and casting, the rumor being that Catwoman would headline this iteration with possible actresses including Angelina Jolie, Rhona Mitra, Charlize Theron, Cher and Megan Fox donning the cat themed gimp suit.

So, topic of discussion is; who do you want to see in the next film and who do you want to be cast in that role as opposed to who will most likely be cast?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

As much as I despise the new batman films, I think the Riddler could actually work pretty well playing gleefully and manically off the Bale Batman. No idea who t o cast though.

[Julford Hajime]

As much as I despise the new batman films, I think the Riddler could actually work pretty well playing gleefully and manically off the Bale Batman. No idea who t o cast though.

Jim Carrey.

*Hides*

[Meister]

Crispin Glover like I've been telling you people ever since Dark Knight came out.

I'm hoping for a movie that goes a little beyond the usual "let's namedrop a familiar character and a familiar actor and watch the comic geeks spasming in joy" though. Being generally pretty good in addition to having famous names didn't hurt the other two any!

[POS Industries]

Jim Carrey.

*Hides*
His Riddler was still the best part of that atrocity and you know it.

[BloodyMage]

The only official confirmation is the movie will be released July 20th, 2 days off of the release date for The Dark Knight. What I was interested in was the speculation of the main villain and casting, the rumor being that Catwoman would headline this iteration with possible actresses including Angelina Jolie, Rhona Mitra, Charlize Theron, Cher and Megan Fox donning the cat themed gimp suit.

So, topic of discussion is; who do you want to see in the next film and who do you want to be cast in that role as opposed to who will most likely be cast?

Out of that selection, the only ones that I'd even consider would be Rhona Mitra and Charlize Theron.

[Seil]

They could always...

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/catwoman17.jpg

[Julford Hajime]

His Riddler was still the best part of that atrocity and you know it.

I know that, and I actually REALLY liked him in it (Carrey is a guilty pleasure of mine), but everyone else seems to hate that movie, that Riddler, and especially Carrey.

Anywho, I actually don't know much Batman mythos beyond the Joker because fucking EVERYONE knows the Joker. Like, I know a couple names and saw the 90s movies, so I guess Freeze, Penguin, or Bane could work, maybe?

I would pay money to NOT see a Catwoman again, though. Neither of the film Catwomans were any good.

[Seil]

I don't know - Hush, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush_%28comics%29) or maybe Black Mask. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mask_%28comics%29) Mob life in Gotham looks like it might need a leader who can survive at least one movie.

List Of Batman Villains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_villains)

[Seil]

So what you're saying is that you're crushing on Michelle Trachtenburg?

[Magus]

Black Mask, the Penguin, and the Phantasm should be in this one. Or one of those and the Phantasm. I think the Phantasm is a much more interesting romantic lead than Catwoman for some reason (mainly the direct parallels between the Phantasm and Batman's modus operandi, except the Phantasm kills people), plus if Nolan wanted to maintain using less familiar villains to the normal movie audience...although really he only kept that promise with Batman Begins so I'd say it's up in the air.

The problem with the Riddler is the Joker did a bunch of Riddler-type things in the last one, so I'm not sure what the Riddler would be doing in a new one.

[Wigmund]

Al Ghul could return. Maybe throw in a bunch of other villains being herded by him to cause further chaos in Gotham.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Clayface and Killer Croc would be awesome.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

David Tennant as the Riddler. He could be a more tech oriented version of the Riddler.

Catwoman should be played by any actress who looks good in leather.

[Bells]

Al Ghul could return. Maybe throw in a bunch of other villains being herded by him to cause further chaos in Gotham.

Al ghul returns with a Young Student that he trained just like Batman, but even harder. Making the young one a powerfull assassin that has to face A Batman that has grown too comfortable with his "Super Tech" and forgot basics.

Together, there is another Assassin. One who like to play mind games with his Victims, surrounding them with "Riddles" about when, where and how he is going to kill them.

So, Robin and Riddler.

By the end of the movie, Robin finds out that Riddler killed his parents on order from AL ghul in order to recrut the young Robin, and he decides to team up with Batman to take out them both.

In the end, Batman offers a new home to Robin in order to give the boy a proper future and good use to his skills.

Not great, but i would watch.

Also, Psychopath Ninja Riddler... that would just be awesome.

[Tev]

Also, Psychopath Ninja Riddler in a Green Suit... that would just be awesome.

http://thefaust.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/riddler.jpg

[Wigmund]

Hell, they could use the Arkham Asylum Riddler. Guy must have been a ninja to leave those damn clues where he did.

*Incredibly awesome Ghul-trained Robin and Riddler idea*

Let's take this and throw in a Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy/Catwoman triple team as a side diversion for Batman and even Robin/Nightwing.

[Krylo]

Personally I want to see Michelle Trachtenburg play her.

Trachtenburg is hot and all, but she's not Catwoman hot. Michelle is more girl next door sexy, while Catwoman requires more of a leather dominatrix sexy.

Not that I wouldn't enjoy seeing her in leather, or anything... just saying it'd be kind of a disconnect to see her as Catwoman.

[BloodyMage]

Trachtenburg is hot and all, but she's not Catwoman hot. Michelle is more girl next door sexy, while Catwoman requires more of a leather dominatrix sexy.

Not that I wouldn't enjoy seeing her in leather, or anything... just saying it'd be kind of a disconnect to see her as Catwoman.

You haven't see Gossip Girl, have you?

[Krylo]

I could try to explain this more fully and fail horriby, or I could make fun of you for watching a show called Gossip Girl.

I think I'm going to go with the latter.

[BloodyMage]

Hey you want a more dominating, fiendish Michelle Trachtenburg, I'm just saying, Gossip Girl delivers.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

We could get Harley Quinn in a throw-away scene. Something about the Joker slowly driving his psychologist insane before killing himself in front of her to prove some twisted point.

[bluestarultor]

I might be able to see Trachtenberg as Harley. Probably not Catwoman, but maybe Harley.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

She's too young for Harley, but perfect for Catwoman if they go the prostitute route.

[bluestarultor]

She's too young for Harley, but perfect for Catwoman if they go the prostitute route.

She's 24 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Trachtenberg). That's plenty old enough for Harley.


Edit: Let me explain a bit. She definitely looks young in most of her roles, and she'll probably be pulling that until she's 30. On the other hand, that has a lot to do with them "dressing her down." What I mean by this is they dress her young, do her wardrobe and hair to make her look young and possibly smaller through various tricks of dimension. Alternatively, they could "dress her up" with different clothes and such to make her look older. That's not how she's marketing herself at the moment, but they could.

And aside from that, Harley is a younger character anyway, isn't she?

[tacticslion]

We could get Harley Quinn in a throw-away scene. Something about the Joker slowly driving his psychologist insane before killing himself in front of her to prove some twisted point.

You know, it occurs to me: Harley would be a better villain than catwoman for a third film. Truly, if she were broken by the Joker before he killed himself - that would be a perfect segue into the new movie, and it'd be someone that Batman wouldn't expect, and someone he could "try to save", preferably "from herself". If she makes cries for help which he at first ignores - because he's still hung up on Rachel - so much the better. If/when she dies and/or falls into Harley Quinn (again or for the first time, whichever), it could be just the catalyst to rock his world... and change his philosophy... once again. She could have a form of DIDs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_identity_disorder) or something so she really and truly seems normal until the "wicked side" is triggered. She could even be a kind of anti-batman. This could later set up perfect introductions to Phantasm (who could even be Rachel herself in this new history, I don't know) or Cat Woman. Whoever she ends up being wouldn't be his "perfect woman" - he'd believe he'd have been presented with that chance twice and lost both of them (Rachel and Harley), so he'd "settle" for the new character, allowing tons of tension and/or character development (no one likes to be "settled for"). Incidentally a skilled and clever sci-tech sociopathic/psychopathic ninja-esque Riddler would not only fit perfectly well within the context of this Batman world, but would work well as either an ally or an enemy of Harley - both seeing themselves as sort of the 'heir'(s) of Joker and either killing together or independantly. Possibly he's even the reason that innocent Dr. Harleen Quinzel is "triggered" into Harley Quinn at first (perhaps keeing the Joker's work going) until she manifests it herself.

Also, yeah, Batman needs a semi-permanent Enemy left in Gotham to rule the Mobs. I think it was supposed to be Joker, but that didn't work out, sadly.

Clayface and Killer Croc would be awesome.

Clayface ain't gonna happen, sorry man. He's just too sci-"fantasy" based for this series. Killer Croc is a remote possibility, as he'd just have to be born a tiny bit of a mutant followed up by filing his own teeth and virtually killing himself with 'Roids or something (though that's usually Bane's job). Croc and Penguin (who could also work ok) might work well together. I dunno, I'm just throwing that out there.

So, now that my "pet theory" has been posted, much like in 8-Bit, the directors - having scoured these message boards - will make sure not to use it! Add yours to the list today!

[The Sevenshot Kid]

Both Catwoman and Robin could work because they're both broken people. It woule be a cool arc if Bruce was trying to reach out to them on different levels. Could Bruce help either of them?

[Intern Nin]

http://th08.deviantart.net/fs51/300W/f/2009/293/6/8/Music_Meister_and_Black_Canary_by_g0N3Morganna.jpg
That is all.

[Eldezar]

Trachtenburg is hot and all, but she's not Catwoman hot. Michelle is more girl next door sexy, while Catwoman requires more of a leather dominatrix sexy.

Not that I wouldn't enjoy seeing her in leather, or anything... just saying it'd be kind of a disconnect to see her as Catwoman.

I am ok with Michelle not playing the traditional role of Catwoman or some variation of a dominant Catwoman because I am biased against Catwoman and pretty much think the only good Catwoman is from Batman: TAS and TNBA. If Michelle can play Catwoman like that, that would be amazing, and I am now mildly interested in Gossip girl to see what else she is capable of.

Harley is also a viable option, though I think that would be difficult to do (though not impossible) without recasting Joker so we can see the relationship between those two. If you have seen The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus then you would see there are two fairly decent replacements for Ledger with another (Depp) being an unsatisfactory replacement but still could make an interesting performance in his own right.

It would be kind of nice to get a Superman/Batman live-action movie. Both DC and Marvel have gotten better about acknowledging other heroes within their universes, but it still seems that there could be more interaction. I think we need a new Superman, though. Wonder what Welling is doing...

[greed]

Guys, guys.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u86/gr33d_2007/ClockKing.jpg

Clock King.

Edit: If they made Mr Freeze more realistic they could use his story to introduce the white collar crime in Gotham, the mobs are broken it's probably time for Batman to go after the evil megacorps.

[bluestarultor]

I am ok with Michelle not playing the traditional role of Catwoman or some variation of a dominant Catwoman because I am biased against Catwoman and pretty much think the only good Catwoman is from Batman: TAS and TNBA. If Michelle can play Catwoman like that, that would be amazing, and I am now mildly interested in Gossip girl to see what else she is capable of.

Harley is also a viable option, though I think that would be difficult to do (though not impossible) without recasting Joker so we can see the relationship between those two. If you have seen The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus then you would see there are two fairly decent replacements for Ledger with another (Depp) being an unsatisfactory replacement but still could make an interesting performance in his own right.

It would be kind of nice to get a Superman/Batman live-action movie. Both DC and Marvel have gotten better about acknowledging other heroes within their universes, but it still seems that there could be more interaction. I think we need a new Superman, though. Wonder what Welling is doing...

See, I think that re-writing Harley could actually work well in this case. Maybe you only need something saying she had some connection to Joker, like, I dunno, his daughter or something, but it might be interesting to not have that kind of arbitrary baggage attached. Maybe she was only told somehow she was his daughter or maybe somehow just looked up to him, but for whatever reason, decided to follow in his footsteps after the fact. You could do a whole "girl, you're making a mistake" type of thing there, only to have it turn out that it's actually a mistake to underestimate her, because she's wholly dedicated to it for all the horrifyingly right reasons and is just as or possibly even more dangerous than Joker was. You could pull an entirely different, but even more terrifying, form of psychotic with her, where she's just out to have fun, and by "having fun" I mean committing acts that would make the Joker himself blush with naught but a visage of childish glee. She could be absolutely, irredeemably psychotic with the advantage of a seeming innocence inherent to her that throws people off and makes them underestimate and misjudge her without any intentional manipulation on her part.

Basically, Harley could be fucking terrifying.



On Supes, I think the character needs a rest. The public hasn't forgotten about his last horrible failure and to be frank, not a single one of his movies has been anything above okay in my opinion. There's not much you can do with a character whose abilities amount to "being better than everyone at everything" and for whom several cosmic characters have to be created on a weekly basis just so that he can pummel them in a slightly less unfair fight. Let's be honest here, I get that his planet exploded, but statistically, there just aren't enough glowing green rocks to go around and it's lazy and uninteresting to have to constantly throw them around as a fallback.

Don't get me wrong, with a good writer, he can be great, but there's been zero evidence that it's liable to happen on the silver screen.

[Fifthfiend]

Three should have been The Two-Face Movie but they decided to cram his entire plot into the last 15 minutes of DK so I dunno.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

Was TDK better or worse for having Two-Face?

[Fifthfiend]

It was definitely better for having Harvey Dent. Two-Face, nots'much.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

Two-Face couldn't have held a movie on his own due to his characterization.

Catwoman and Riddler could keep the plot going while Dick Grayson could offes a new view on things.

[Kim]

Fuck all y'all.

Movie needs Niel Patrick Harris as Music Meister.

Any attempts to convince me that that would not be the best thing ever in live action format are terrible lies.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Fuck all y'all.

Movie needs Niel Patrick Harris as Music Meister.

Any attempts to convince me that that would not be the best thing ever in live action format are terrible lies.
I second this.

Though as awesome as it would be. Music Meister is a Brave and the Bold original. I don't think he was in any of the old comics (which the director seems to be plucking the villains from).

[BitVyper]

I want the Ten Eyed Man.

[Meister]

Three should have been The Two-Face Movie but they decided to cram his entire plot into the last 15 minutes of DK so I dunno.
You know what they say, better to burn out than fade away.

He could be a more tech oriented version of the Riddler.
See I like that but the new Batman movies have glaring suspension of disbelief issues regarding technology as it is and I'd rather have those confined to one plot detail than all over the movie because the secondary main character is based on them.

... Riddler would have been good as a guy who tries to figure out who Batman is, except now that we've established you can find that out by rummaging through Bruce Wayne's bins and finding the blueprints for military equipment prototypes with "paint black and use for crimefighting" written on them it wouldn't have quite the same impact anymore.

[tacticslion]

It was definitely better for having Harvey Dent. Two-Face, nots'much.

You know what they say, better to burn out than fade away.

See, the thing with Dark Knight is that it was a really, really good... one and a half movie(s). I understand two-face couldn't hold a movie plot on his own, but he'd be a fantastic segue. Heck, I even thought that half way through - when the Joker escaped and was going to cause more ruckus in Gotham, riding in a police car - that the movie was over when I first saw it (a couple of people in the theater actually don't know to watch the credits because they're in too much of a hurry to get to their cars). I also get that they were going for "Batman needs to be on the run so the police can try to kill him in the next movie" plot - Harvey's death (along with him assaulting the police) was a perfect set up for that. But if worked right that a) could have been made into another movie and/or b) could have been wrapped up/re-written a bit cleaner. Doesn't stop it from being a fantastic movie, in my opinion, but I think that's pretty much its biggest failing - not so much for being "bad" but for only only being "pretty good".

See I like that but the new Batman movies have glaring suspension of disbelief issues regarding technology as it is and I'd rather have those confined to one plot detail than all over the movie because the secondary main character is based on them.

... Riddler would have been good as a guy who tries to figure out who Batman is, except now that we've established you can find that out by rummaging through Bruce Wayne's bins and finding the blueprints for military equipment prototypes with "paint black and use for crimefighting" written on them it wouldn't have quite the same impact anymore.

That's kind of why I'm suggesting a sci-tech riddler who's devoted to the Joker. Even though the actual actor himself is regrettably gone, it could easily be made that in this Batman movie series he's the haunting Spectre - the curse that Batman never quite rids himself of. NO, I'm not recommending the JOKERZ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokerz) gang! Also, I'm sure I've no idea what you're talking about (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Beyond). It would work too, as an homage to Heath Ledger whose death will - lets face it - likely be brought up by the news media whenever the newest Batman movie comes out now. It's going to be part of the legacy now regardless, so why not embrace it and make an homage to his powerful acting talent simultaneously? Also, while I like both Catwoman and Robin as concepts, I'm thinking "no" in live action movies, as the director has (if I recall correctly, please correct me if I'm wrong) declared that he wouldn't do Robin, and Catwoman has a whole host of issues, not the least of which is her presentation in every live action thing she's ever been presented in. Even though Harley isn't as "obscure" as some others, she does exist in actual comic canon, isn't as prominant as, say, Bane, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, the Riddler, Two-Face, or Poison Ivy (as they've all been in other movies). Although I added the Riddler to the list above, I still see enough potential in him to warrent his inclusion, but again it'd have to be different enough from the old version to warrent itself.

[Mannix]

I could see them going a couple of different ways, but the two that really stick out in my mind are:

1) They use the Riddler as a kind of anti-Joker. Instead of being all about chaos, Riddler is a scheming schemer scheming to control his little Gotham through various legal and illegal activities white-collar, blue-collar and otherwise.

2) They set Bane up as a chemistry batman to batman's technology batman; he becomes the new public hero, but unbeknownst to everybody, the chemicals Bane uses to enhance himself are eating away at his sanity and he becomes violent, committing several murders which are pinned on batman. batman solves the crime and clears his name, but in the final battle he barely escapes with his life, his back possibly broken kind of like in the comics, showing him that he isn't getting any younger and he needs start training an apprentice. the movie ends with him paying a visit to a kid orphaned by Bane.

[Eldezar]

I actually cannot remember if Two-Face officially died or if it was an off-screen death or something like that. I personally think Two-Face should not havbe been killed, simply captured or run-away, and that when Harvey became Two-Face the rest of his story went into the background until a later film. Kind of like what I thought was going to be done with Scarecrow, but to me it seemed like it was just thrown in to finish him off and keep people from wondering "Hey, scarecrow my come back halfway through the film."

Cuz you know, even though Batman generally fights one villain at a time, that also means he is not somewhere else fighting another villain. Maybe for some reason Batman left Harvey alone as he committed small crimes while building his own mafia because he still felt guilty for what happened to the guy, and at the end of the film or in another finally conclude the background plot. Granted, I may have my mind stuck in a different medium while working on play scripts and novels and everything is happening everywhere, and is a little bit difficult to do for the big screen.

I like the idea presented with how Harley could be rewritten, and would definitely like to see it made true.

[Seil]

I actually cannot remember if Two-Face officially died or if it was an off-screen death or something like that.

***SPOILERS*** (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkK39ADFQSM)

Maybe for some reason Batman left Harvey alone as he committed small crimes while building his own mafia because he still felt guilty for what happened to the guy,

Batman had no idea Harvey had chosen to become Two-Face. After he defeats the Joker, Joker tells him that Two-Face is doing what he's doing. As soon as Batman learns that Harvey Dent is turning to crime, he goes after him.

Batman didn't know, and therefore didn't go after him. If he had known, he probably would've gone after Two-Face first, because if Dent's reputation was smeared by corruption, all the criminals that he locked up would've been let out until a new trial was scheduled.

That's what the whole speech at the end of the movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TibA0sQQZw8) is about.

Harvey Dent:You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.


Gordon: Yes, I do. The Joker won. Harvey's prosecution, everything he fought for - undone. Any chance you gave us at fixing our city dies with Harvey's reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose hope.
Batman: They won't. They must never know what he did.
Gordon: Five dead, two of them cops? You can't sweep that up!
Batman: No. But the Joker cannot win. [kneels down next to Harvey, whose scarred left side is facing up] Gotham needs its true hero. [turns Harvey's head so that his unmarred side faces up]
Gordon: [immediately understanding] No!
[B]Batman: [quoting Harvey Dent] "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." I can do those things because I'm not a hero, unlike Dent. I killed those people. That's what I can be.
Gordon: No, no! You can't, you're not--
Batman: I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be. [hands Gordon his radio] Call it in.
Gordon: They'll hunt you.
Batman: You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me, set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes... the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.
[I][Batman runs]
Gordon's Son: Batman? Batman! Why is he running, Dad?
Gordon: Because we have to chase him.
Gordon's Son: He didn't do anything wrong.
Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.

[Kim]

Man, summa dat dialogue right there is SO BAD.

[Meister]

Dammit guys, spoilers.

e: vv That's what the tags are for, my good man.:knowledge:

[Seil]

Sorry. I did try to warn people.

[bluestarultor]

I like the idea presented with how Harley could be rewritten, and would definitely like to see it made true.

If it does, I will probably literally dance with glee.

On the other hand, despite being awesome, the comic fans would probably rip the whole movie a new one just because. Kind of an inverse Power Girl syndrome.

(For reference, Power Girl is actually a great character and the fans absolutely love her. It's just the people outside the audience who can't get past her logo.)

[Aerozord]

if they did use Robin, I think it would be an awesome change of pace to side-line the villians entirely. Make the movie about Batman and Robins development and only use the villians as a backdrop. For this someone like The Penguin would be good, Since he's a criminal with a legit front you could do a movie about them attempting to find evidence to prove he's even doing anything. Which could also be a good way to show Robin and Batman's differing viewpoints. Especially if you do a somewhat hot headed Robin that would rather punch crime in the throat then sneak around to gather information

[Fifthfiend]

Sorry. I did try to warn people.

In less time than it took to write "spoilers" you could have gone into those tags you use to wrap everything in that ghastly shade of pink and replaced that awful color choice with a pare of SSes, bada bing-bang-boom problem solved.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

It doesn't matter to me anymore who the villain is as long as he wears some actual tights. They would be the one thing that could really intimidate Batman. If you were Batman, would you try and tackle a guy in brightly colored tights?

[Magus]

Wait wait wait wait wait.

We're debating properly hiding spoilers for The Dark Knight? Somebody hasn't seen The Dark Knight? That almost needs its own thread.

Clayface is right out of the Nolanverse, but Killer Croc could be done if they went "the cannibal with skin disease" route of the graphic novel Joker. He'd easily be done as a side villain involved in some scenes (kind of like Mr. Zsasz or whatever, certainly not the focus of the movie but he can be in it without much fuss).

If they could turn Killer Croc into a full blown and interesting villain I'd be amazed, though.

Robin should not be in the movie, unless it's like, right at the end and its implied they will be partners now, since its the end of the trilogy. Like, Dick Grayson can be in it, and maybe he he gets to choose whether or not to kill Tony Zucco and makes the right (Batman) choice to not do it right near the end, but he should never actually be Robin in the movie.

EDIT: And a circus should probably not be involved either, because, seriously, a circus? C'mon.

[CABAL49]

Depending on how they did it, Deadshot could be a pretty believable villian http://eter22.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/deadshot.jpg

[Magus]

Does he have any interesting parallels that could be made with Batman's character/history to advance the movie's theme?

[Seil]

The Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlztW3Ycv2s&feature=related)

The IMDB Website (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/)

The Rumor (http://www.hecklerspray.com/batman-3-johnny-depp-definitely-the-riddler-but-probably-not/200815927.php)

Congrats, you Bat nuts finally have an actual day to obsess over for months and months. Warner Bros. has officially announced the release date of Christopher Nolan's third Batman film: July 20th, 2012. All signs have been pointing toward the third Bat installment arriving in 2012, and you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to guess Warners would stick the flick on the same weekend as its closest sibling (especially since it shattered records), but it's still nice to know for sure that we'll be getting a new Batman movie from Nolan on a specific date in the future. It's all set in stone -- we can change the pencil to pen, make the invitations and start looking for a florist and photographer. This deal is done.

Now comes the fun part: 1. Who are the villains? 2. Which actors and actresses are playing those villains? Who else will Nolan add to his delightful, ever-growing ensemble cast? Which actress will replace Maggie Gyllenhaal as the girl Bruce Wayne wants to sleep with? Will Christian Bale lessen the growl a little bit so we don't immediately make fun of him after the credits roll? Can anyone top Ledger? Will this new film forever live in the shadow of its predecessor no matter what they do? How do you make a follow up to one of greatest superhero films of all time?

Those questions -- and many more, I imagine -- will be answered one by one over the next several months. What are you looking forward to most with the film?

[Osterbaum]

The riddler seems like pretty natural choice. Hopefully they'll mainly stick with one villain.

[Doc ock rokc]

Counter Rumor (http://http://www.digitalspy.com/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a76431/david-tennant-craves-batman-villain-role.html)
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/12037/david%20tennant%20=%20riddler.jpg

[Donomni]

We all know that Neil Patrick Harris would make an awesome Riddler.

Also, he already has Bat-experience.

[Magus]

Can anyone explain why the Riddler is "such an obvious choice" despite the comics treating him like a huge joke and his animated version, while having an awesome labyrinth, not really fitting into the Nolanverse, and his most interesting traits like riddles and clues and main motive being co-opted by the Joker in a 2 1/2 hour movie?

There's no new ground here and the old ground doesn't appear to be particularly interesting, either. Throwing Catwoman in there would make more sense at this point to me (I'm not cheering for something so unoriginal but if I had to make a list she'd rate higher than the Riddler).

Also fake trailers are interesting but anyone can do that! I can post fake trailers featuring Black Mask and Hush (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0mByph43NI)! Even when having both in the same movie would make no sense whatsoever, they're like the same character with different plot devices for what makes them into the supervillain.

[Meister]

What's that, an existing and very recent Batman movie thread? WELL I'LL NEVER

Which actress will replace Maggie Gyllenhaal as the girl Bruce Wayne wants to sleep with? Will Christian Bale lessen the growl a little bit so we don't immediately make fun of him after the credits roll?
"Hi, we're smug morons with a ridiculous sense of entitlement who are completely fine with the 'just make more of the same, no one will care' approach producers take with contemporary mainstream movies and we have a website."

e: dude Seil not to pick on you but your link to "the rumour" leads to an article that obviously (if badly) makes fun of people who actually take "yeah it'd be fun" as the starting point of a rumour and some might say you could have chosen better.

[Magus]

They struck me more as people who simply don't have anything to really say about it since there's nothing to actually say other than there is a release date, which is why the article was 60% rhetorical questions and lame attempts at humor based on jokes that are pretty old at this point. Most movie sites are like that, I'm not surprised Cinematical is the same.

[Seil]

since there's nothing to actually say other than there is a release date,

Pretty much this, and the fact that I get easily excited. Also:

Writing credits
(WGA)
Bob Kane (characters)

David S. Goyer (story)

Christopher Nolan (screenplay) and
David S. Goyer (screenplay)

Writing credits
(WGA)
Jonathan Nolan (screenplay) and
Christopher Nolan (screenplay)

Christopher Nolan (story) &
David S. Goyer (story)

David S. Goyer (screenplay)
Jonathan Nolan (screenplay)

Why are the writing credits getting shorter? And which Nolan are we praising here?

[Magus]

David S. Goyer? He looks to be the real brains of the organization.

[RickZarber]

Keep in mind that Goyer also wrote and directed Blade Trinity. (The other two as well, but still...)

Seriously though--and I feel like I've said this before recently--you can't trust IMDb on movies that haven't even entered pre-production.

[Eldezar]

Another thing I noted was the "trailer" said 2011 and the IMDB and all other articles say 2012.

Since it is up, I wanted to bring something up regarding Joker, because I think this guy would be a pretty good replacement.

[someone embed my video] http://www.youtube.com/user/thejokerblogs?blend=2&ob=4#p/a/1BBDE5D95FE7094E/0/lJtIPi0Nb60 [/is it embedded yet?]

17 official episodes that just keep getting better and better.

But yeah, pretty much not liking Riddler unless he had a lot more electronics and puzzles rather than just riddles to differentiate him from Joker.

[Magus]

Apparently Jonathan Nolan is adding in some good stuff:

On March 10, 2010, Nolan confirmed his involvement in the project and gave some information regarding the story. The next Batman film will be Nolan's last and a conclusion to the story. Nolan says, "Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story . . . I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we’ve done with the characters. My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these things don’t go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we’re telling. And it hearkens back to that priority of trying to find the reality in these fantastic stories. That’s what we do.” Nolan has also confirmed that Jonathan Nolan is writing the script and that the villain of the film “won't be Mr. Freeze.”[103]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_in_film#Third_film_.282012.29

At least it sounds really good and they're looking at it the right way, as an actual thematic ending to the trilogy. Obviously they might try a 4th but if it sucks we can pretend it never happened (like Alien Resurrection).

Also it won't be Mr. Freeze! This means there are only a hundred other possibilities for the villain! :D