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Damon Lindelof Talks at Length about the Ending of LOSTChristopher Nolan Speaks! Updates on DARK KNIGHT Sequel and SUPERMAN MAN OF STEEL
by Brendan Bettinger Posted:March 10th, 2010 at 8:59 am
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Christopher Nolan is notoriously coy about his upcoming moves, but interest in said moves has reached a fever pitch as of late, once it was announced that the auteur director would not only return to follow up on mega-success The Dark Knight, but he would “godfather” the new Superman reboot (tentatively titled The Man of Steel) as well. Although Nolan still shies away from utter transparency, he spoke with LA Times, and shared more on what the future holds for Batman and Superman than I ever thought he would at this stage.
After the jump, look for quotes from the man of the hour on the genesis of his involvement in the Superman franchise, how the third film will likely be his last entry in the Batman franchise, and how Mr. Freeze will not make an appearance in the sequel.
The best news is that Nolan seems genuinely excited about the Dark Knight sequel. We all speculated that he would only return to the franchise if he found a story that piqued his interest enough. Still, it’s good to hear it so earnestly from the horse’s mouth:
“It’s very exciting, we have a fantastic story, and we feel we can do it right. We know the milieu, if you will, we know the genre and how to get it done right.”
But after Nolan completes his Batman trilogy, it sounds like he’s done with Gotham, which is probably for the best:
“Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film an 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 thing 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.”
I can’t say I’m too disappointed in this news. It sounds great in theory to have Nolan telling the tale of Bruce Wayne in perpetuity, but in reality a saga with a beginning, middle, and end is the way to go. Batman Begins is a great origin story, and The Dark Knight casts Batman’s world into chaos, presumably to set up the redemptive arc of the third film. I hope that this approach lends the story and its director a sense of purpose that will really wow us whenever it makes its way to theaters.
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Speaking of which, that still may be a couple years away. Nolan has yet to officially confirm that he will direct the Batman sequel, though the article treats it as a foregone conclusion. Speaking to the development process, Nolan reported,
“My brother, [Jonah Nolan], is writing a script for me and we’ll wait to see how it turns out…he’s struggling to put it together into the epic story that you want it to be.”
These things take time, of course. Nolan was unwilling to reveal which villain–or more likely, villains–would challenge the caped crusader in the next film, though he did definitively eliminate one name from contention:
“It won’t be Mr. Freeze.”
Mr. Freeze is one of my favorite Batman villains, if only for his portrayal in the nineties cartoon. However, I understand the trouble of fitting Freeze into Nolan’s depiction of Gotham, and relent that there are probably much better choices. I trust the man to select the right villain to parallel the themes of Bruce Wayne’s redemption, even if he misses out on all sorts of ice-related puns in the process.
The genesis of Nolan’s involvement in the Superman reboot is relayed here, and it is rather interesting. Apparently, Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer had hit a roadblock in developing the Batman story. To take their minds off things, Goyer fantasized about how Nolan would take on the iconic story of Clark Kent. Nolan recalled,
“He basically told me, ‘I have this thought about how you would approach Superman.’ I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I’ve never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way.”
Again, it’s great to hear Nolan excited about a project. It’s possible that Superman has been in the back of his mind for awhile, as the original Richard Donner Superman informed his own casting of Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, and Tom Wilkinson in smaller supporting roles.
“I went to the studio with the analogy of ‘I want to cast the way they did in 1978 with Superman‘ where they had Brando and Glenn Ford and Ned Beatty and all these fantastic actors in even small parts, which was an exotic idea for a superhero movie at the time. It really paid off, too. As a kid watching Superman it seemed enormous and I realized later by looking at it that a lot of that was actually the casting, just having these incredibly talented people and these characterizations. And Marlon Brando is the first guy up playing Superman’s dad. It’s incredible.”
Not that Nolan will stay as true to Donner’s version as Bryan Singer insisted upon in Superman Returns. This Metropolis will be decidedly Nolanized:
“A lot of people have approached Superman in a lot of different ways. I only know the way that has worked for us that’s what I know how to do.”
And really, when you hire Christopher Nolan, that’s exactly what you want: the Nolan stamp of originality. Hiring Nolan for two of cinema’s biggest superhero franchises speaks volumes to the objectives of Warner Bros. It’s hard not to get really excited for these films, neither of which is likely to appear before 2012 or so. To tide us over until then, we have Inception, whose July release date can’t arrive fast enough.
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So Nolan wants to put his permanent stamp on the Batman franchise by ending it here. Based on this information, I'm not even going to watch it. There's no excuse or justification for doing this. James Bond has been going strong for 50 years, sequel after sequel, and it worked because each film was its own self-contained story. It also worked because many of the Bond films were entertaining. I'll be back when the next director reboots it and decides to take the fans that made this franchise into consideration.
Personally, i think they need to do two things with the 3rd film. #1 – Introduce the Riddler as the main villain, who i think should be either Michael C. Hall, Hugh Jackman, or Daniel Day. Hugh worked well as an enemy to Bale in Prestige, which was another great movie of Nolans, and as we all know, Nolan likes to 'keep it in the family' so to speak. I think that Depp or Gordon-Levitt would be awful ideas for Riddler since i can never take Depp seriously and Levitt simply isnt a polished actor. #2 – Batman needs to both be exposed as to his true identity, and needs to die in his efforts to save Gotham. This would be the only way to appropriately end the trilogy, as i cant see him ever going to jail, moving away, or simply retiring once his identity is revealed. The way in which this should happen is not something that would be easily accomplished by Nolan, but i trust that he will not let as down.
As for the title, i think either Gotham City, The Battle for Gotham, The Caped Crusader, or The Batman would all suffice.
Black mask would be better, he goes after Bruce Wayne, rather than batman, looks similar to Two face so could ignite the fears Gordon had at the end of the Dark knight and still be the Jokers 'ace in the hole'
Riddler as a batman villain who is hired by black mask would also make sense.
Despite what Nolan says….no female love interest anymore…..Catwoman maybe, especially if she was the murderous vigilante to Batmans good guy heroics. Technically Dark knight had more than three villains, Joker, Scarecrow, two face and the main criminal gangs, so there would be space for such a trio of characters. Riddler CANNOT be someone like Tennant or Depp, it would be pointless. Taylor Kitsch would make a great Riddler and isnt a familiar face
adrian brody as the riddler ?
That's stupid it's not like Christopher Nolan is not allowing anyone to ever make another batman he just wants to finish his version of it. It's not like all Bond films have had one director and continuous story that flowed through every movie
cant wait for theese films and i reckon after this new batman insttead of having BATMAN films they should continue it but set in 25 years ahead and make it BATMAN OF THE FUTURE the series are actually great and would love to see it as a carry on film after batman to keep the legacy going
i think johnny depp would play a good villian, not sure who, a new one perhaps?
i think johnny depp would play a good villian, not sure who, a new one perhaps?
Johnny Depp was actually already approached for the role as the Riddler, which im very excited about. Depp always adds an eerie and dark feel to a character. You can look it up just about anywhere on the internet.
i wanna see a young Dick Grayson in the third Batman movie.
i wanna see a young Dick Grayson in the third Batman movie.
That’s stupid it’s not like Christopher Nolan is not allowing anyone to ever make another batman he just wants to finish his version of it..
Technically Dark knight had more than three villains, Joker, Scarecrow, two face and the main criminal gangs, so there would be space for such a trio of characters….
Harley Quinn and The Mad Hatter. The two villains, and not anymore than that, you don’t want to overload the script.
the very thought of the broth ers mak ing a super man movie is unbe liev able as they have grown up in the world of comic books and they would be ideal for the project
I personally believe that Tom Welling should be Superman in the new movie. That way they can reboot without telling an ORIGIN story. People can just watch Smallville if they wanted that. At least cast Welling and Erica Durance as Supes and Lois Lane. If they don’t cast Welling as Superman then I want Routh back.
I heard rumours of casting Megan Fox as Catwoman? Not Only is Catwoman an incredibly dull & typical choice but having an ‘actress’ like Megan Fox just ruins it all. People don’t see a good actress when they see Megan Fox, they don’t see her as having the power to jerk any sense of emotion except lust. Megan Fox = bad choice. & Johnny depp someone said? No. Don’t get me started. Scarecrow, Joker, Two face and Ras al ghul. All incredibly original and interesting characters. Penguin would lift sincerity, So hes out. Freeze would Evict realism. But I do believe Bane or Riddler would be exceptional choices. Of course There have to be two villains and those two dont click. I’d say Joker & Bane. Obviously finding someone to match Heith Ledgers excellence will prove trying, however not impossible for the Nolan brothers. Keep it up.
Christopher Nolan gave the Updates on Dark Knight Sequel and SUPERMAN – The Man Of Steel. The director said that he would not like to follow up on the mega-success of The Dark Knight.I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion.
Christopher Nolan gave the Updates on Dark Knight Sequel and SUPERMAN – The Man Of Steel. The director said that he would not like to follow up on the mega-success of The Dark Knight.I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion.