In a not-too-surprising revelation, producer Charles Roven says that Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies do not inhabit the same universe as Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie. Here’s what Roven told Shock Till You Drop about whether the two characters would exist in a shared universe:
No. That may be in somebody’s mind but right now the Batman lives in his world and the Superman lives in his world. Those stories are those stories and we haven’t thought beyond each individual picture.
That’s not a big surprise since Nolan has decided to firmly ground his take on Batman in reality and a flying space alien who shoots heat beams out of his eyes doesn’t really fit with that. Hit the jump for more on The Dark Knight Rises (due out July 20, 2012) and Superman: The Man of Steel (due out holiday 2012).
Roven confirms that The Dark Knight Rises will likely be Christopher Nolan’s last Batman film:
“Well, I think that Chris Nolan has said that he wanted to make a trilogy and this is a trilogy. As far as we all know, this is it. This is the trilogy. The Dark Knight Rises is the third part of what Chris created with Batman Begins and we’re not looking past that. I’ve said this about Chris before: I’ve never known Chris to do anything but focus on the movie he’s making. He gets completely immersed in the movie he’s doing and I know that all he’s thinking about right now when it comes to Batman, the Dark Knight Rises, is making it the best movie he can. He’s not thinking, “will there be another one?” And he’s already said, in his mind, it’s a trilogy. So I think he’s just focusing on making this the best he possibly can and that’s it.”
And how is Nolan balancing his directing duties on TDKR and Superman: The Man of Steel?
“It’s a huge workload, but there’s a way we’ve been talking about how to make it work. Hopefully, there will be a little bit of time in-between the start of production on both of them. Right now Dark Knight Rises is coming out in the summer of 2012 and Superman is coming out in the winter of 2012. So hopefully — and we’re just at the beginning phases of both of them. We haven’t even entered official pre-production on either one of them — there will be a little bit of room. They’re both going to be long shoots. I’m sure there’s going to be some overlap, but hopefully there’ll be as little overlap as possible.”
Finally, concerning rumors that Superman’s suit will be all-CGI:
“You know, one of the things that you probably know about me and us working on this movie is that the rumors are the rumors and when we have something to say, we’ll say it. Until we do, there’s nothing to say.”
My guess is that they’re waiting to see how folks react to the Green Lantern‘s all-CGI suit. Personally, I think that would be an unnecessary expense for Superman, but as Roven says, it’s just a rumor for now.
Creator Ryan Murphy Reveals Details on AMERICAN HORROR STORY Season 3; Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, and Evan Peters to Return
First Trailer and Poster for RED 2 Starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich
16 New Images from A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD Featuring Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney and Yuliya Snigir
Watch: How THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Should Have Ended
First Trailer for SPRING BREAKERS Starring Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, and James Franco
I hope that they treat TDKR as an end of a story arc and that Chris will come back to direct the next one when he is ready. I am really tired of the three and out reboot formula that has plagued Hollywood.
The “three and out reboot formula” exists for two reasons.
1. They hardly ever manage to stay fresh and interesting longer than two movies. By the time the third movie is made, people are bored with the franchise. Think of X-men 3, Robocop 3, Superman 3, Spider-man 3, Jurrasic Park 3, Godfather III… It’s called the Curse of the Threequel. If anything has “plagued” Hollywood, it’s their inability to make compelling and complete trilogies.
2. It’s not fair to expect the director, the cast, the creative team, etc. to devote so many years of their life to one particular character or saga. Even if they’re willing to do it, it stops feeling so fresh and exciting after a while and people aren’t going to pay as much to see it.
Christopher Nolan is completing a story with TDKR and it has the added bonus of looking like it won’t actually suck. I will enjoy this trilogy for years to come and eagerly await any fresh new ideas or takes on Batman that might come out next.
Holiday 2012? Yeah, right. Beyond the fact that this film seems to only be in the planning stages, Warners is going to need another summer tentpole franchise. Especially since Batman and Potter will be done by then. Once Warners figures out just how much money this movie is going to cost, it’ll get elevated to a summer release. Summer 2013 at the earliest, with Summer being 2014 more likely.
If it doesn’t come out in 2012 you could be looking at a Superman-less Warner Bros thanks to the Siegel lawsuit. Not sure if any more legal actions could change this. Look at Fox and Watchmen and how that nearly postponed the movie’s release but it got resolved albeit at the last second.