Yesterday, I posted on Christian Bale‘s reported dismissal of Robin—both the character and his place in Christopher Nolan‘s Batman franchise—and the comments continue to unfold with incredibly lengthy diatribes widely in favor of Bale’s sentiments. Twenty-three words can unleash hundreds of thousands, and now highly respected comic writer Jeph Loeb, whose credits include both The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, has come out in defense of Robin/Dick Grayson’s place in a Batman 3. What’s worth noting is that both of the connected books mentioned above have long been considered by geeks to be fair game for a sequel(s) to The Dark Knight…if we’re so lucky. Here’s what Loeb told MTV regarding his vision for “the next step” in these high water mark superhero films..
“Take the time to tell the story properly,” Loeb said. “There is a story of Dick Grayson and how he becomes Robin that is extremely moving and very helpful. …[Grayson/Robin] doesn’t understand why it is that he needs to do this and Bruce doesn’t understand why he’s doing it either because he’s not a parent. He doesn’t know how to be a parent,” Loeb said. “And together, they make each other better people. So that for me would be the next step.”
Right now, Robin is considered to be a hex for the series due to Joel Schumacher’s legendary wack-job with the character/costumes. Combined with Robin’s oft-pubescent, effete depiction, he automatically seems like a flamboyant anomaly to Nolan’s world of hardboiled crime staked in realistic technology and sophistication. Of course, Nolan’s take on Robin would certainly not resemble anything like the admittedly biased image above, but Robin would still prove a creative challenge to adapt unlike any other character in his mythology. Oddly enough, Bale stated back in 2005 that one of his favorite Batman comics was Dark Victory, in which Robin plays a considerable role…
“But the two [Batman stories] that I liked particularly were Dark Victory and The Long Halloween. They just had some really fantastic imagery in there of the severity of Batman and everything and I would kind of imitate those positions.”
There’s speculation that The Daily Mail falsely attributed the Robin diss to Bale; however, it’s equally as likely that Bale simply browsed through various graphic novels sent to him by DC (as he informed fans in the link above) with casual interest. As it stands, Bale hates Robin. Haha. If the third film is indeed the last, might it seem strange to have entirely overlooked such a well recognized part of canon? While /Film doesn’t wish to see Robin appear in any form, Loeb does make a nice and knowing effort to illustrate how it could be done tastefully…
“I wouldn’t let him become Robin until the third act, if that. I think that’s the other problem when you tell that story is that there’s this rush to put him in a costume by the end of the first 20 minutes and in that case I think it’s a disaster…”
Discuss: Do Loeb’s comments change your stance on the appropriateness/inclusion of Robin in a sequel to The Dark Knight? Is it worth the risk and if so, how old would Robin need to be for it to work? What do you make of Bale’s compliments to Dark Victory but dislike for Robin?
Bonus Disuss: Is Chris O’Donnell’s Robin the lamest, worst outfitted superhero ever put to film? Has anyone offered a picture of Robin to O’Donnell for an autograph circa 2008? Do tell.
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This week I got the chance to see The Tumbler and Bat-Pod up close and personal at The Dark Knight press day in Hollywood. But before you get too jealous, you to can check out Batman’s ride. Rejects passes along that both the Bat-Pod and the Tumbler will be traveling to the following cities across the United States before ending up back in Los Angeles the big premiere:
* Phoenix
* Denver
* St. Louis
* Cleveland (July 6)
* Kansas City
* Cincinnati (July 5)
* Washington, DC
* Philadelphia
* Boston
* Toronto
* Niagara Falls, NY
* New York City
* Chicago
I don’t have the exact locations or dates for all these appearances, but we’ll update you when we get em.
Battle of the Batmans by Black20
The Pitch: Four Batmans wear the cape, but in Gotham City, there can only be one. Cut together using footage from all the contemporary Batman movies. Thanks to /Film reader Matthew S for the tip.
Watch More Cool Videos Here!
Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
Here is a round up of stories that just didn’t make the /Film front page, or what we like to call…. Page 2!
Cinematical has a photo of the I Love You Philip Morris billboard at Cannes.
Adam Brody talks to IGN about his preparation for the now defunct Justice League movie.
National Lampoon’s Homo Erectus looks horrible. Check out the red band movie trailer on Trailer Addict, if you dare!
IconFactory has released their Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Icon Set.
Uwe Boll told RT what his five favorite films are – and, considering he’s the man who cast Tara Reid as a brilliant archaeologist and made such clunkers as BloodRayne and Dungeon Siege, his picks are kind of surprising. (Apocalypse Now, Dances With Wolves, Clockwork Orange, Citizen Kane, and The Searchers.)
io9 has a first look at Killdroid: A Mechanical Love Affair.
Defamer counts down the Top Five Most Cringeworthy Facial Hair Moments in Cinematic History.
The new poster for The Strangers is kinda creepy. [bloody-disgusting]
AICN has the first test screening review of Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The reviewer says “it’s similar to “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” – it’s a raunchy sex comedy that also wants to have a sweet romance at its center” and claims the hillarious dialogue is “some of the strongest stuff I’ve heard from Smith in years”, but says “the heart of the movie doesn’t really fly”. Sounds to me like something that might be fixed in editing. It’s also revealed that Justin Long makes a cameo.
Lucasfilm has announced that “Star Wars Weekends” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will give a sneak peek at Star Wars: The Clone Wars , coming to theaters on August 15th. [ComingSoon]
FirstShowing takes a look at the 10 Best and Worst Rappers Turned Movie Actors.
Before you watch the documentary on the new special edition of Raiders of the Lost Ark, beware that a certain character’s identity, which may or may not be a spoiler from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is revealed on screen. [filmchat]
The Movie Blog lists Five Ways Iron Man was better than Batman Begins.
Bloody-Disgusting has the first photo from Platinum Dunes remake of Friday the 13th.
Lance Henriksen (Near Dark, Pumpkinhead) has completed a cameo for Jennifer’s Body. [Shock]
Cinematical has the teaser poster for City of Ember. Meanwhile Fox Walden has launched the official teaser website at CityofEmber.com.
CinemaBlend has details on the 25th anniversary dvd release of WarGames.
Rotten Tomatoes Names Harrison Ford‘s Ten Best Film Characters.
ABC News lists Five Science Fiction Movies That Get the Science Right.
Diablo Cody will be the next guest programer at Hollywood’s New Beverly Cinema: “To me, the movie night I keep hyping, because I’m so excited about it, is Little Shop of Horrors, the ’86 version, and Labyrinth. And I’m going to do Nightmare on Elm Street 3 with Fright Night. Midnight Madness with Wet Hot American Summer. I’m gonna try and get both Reitman’s in and do an Ivan and Jason double-bill.” [shock]
Zap2It has script reivews of Fox’s two new shows – JJ Abrams’ Fringe and Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.
Rejects has this fan art showing what the movie version of War Machine might look like in the Iron Man sequel.
Arcade Fire will be scoring Richard Kelly’s The Box. [playlist]
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa will be released into IMAX® theatres worldwide on November 7, 2008. [CS]
Audrina Patridge, one of the stars of MTV’s The Hills, will make her feature debut opposite Chris Carmack and Laura Vandervoort in the Charles Winkler-directed Into the Blue 2. [THR]
Jessica Alba does her best impersonation of the iconic Charlie Chaplin in the June 2008 issue of Allure. [justjared]
The CW has given a 13-episode midseason renewal to Reaper. [variety]
Andras Hamori’s H20 Motion Pictures has greenlit The Gate — 20 Years Later, a sequel to the 1987 horror film that terrified me as a child. [bloody-disgusting]
eBoy‘s latest poster takes on Los Angeles.
The Mythbusters will take on Indiana Jones.
Rotten Tomatoes takes a look at New Line’s 40 years of independence (before getting gobbled up by WB), 25 movies to celebrate their legacy.
When you see Christopher Nolan‘s vision of Two-Face up on screen in The Dark Knight, you have no idea and you’re going to vomit. This is basically what Aaron Eckhart is telling fans in a new interview with the LAT. He also peels back more of the villain’s “vigilante” psyche, leading us into slight spoiler territory. But first, let’s get to the “GROSS!” part…
“I can tell you that, basically, when you look at Two-Face, you should get sick to your stomach. Being the guy under all that, well, that was a lot of fun for me. It’s like you would feel if you met someone whose face had pretty much been ripped off or burned off with acid. …There are fans on the Internet who have done artist’s versions of what they think it will look like, and I can tell you this: They’re thinking small; Chris is going way farther than people think.”
That dimple in his chin might never look the same. :’( Note that he mentions “acid” above, as a debate continues on the interwebs regarding a scene from the latest trailer where Harvey Dent’s face encounters a gasoline-like substance. Interesting. Now for the spoiler (update: some readers feel this is a HUGE MEGA-SPOILER). Do not continue if you do not want to know how TDK‘s Batman is different from Two-Face, and the fate of one character, thanks.
“The difference between Batman and Two-Face is how far they are willing to go and how they make their point,” Eckhart said. “Otherwise, we’re talking about vigilante crime-fighting. That’s what Batman is all about. He has a strong sense of justice. And Harvey Dent has an extremely strong sense of justice. His fiancée is killed. He’s horribly injured. But he is still true to himself. He’s a crime fighter, he’s not killing good people. He’s not a bad guy, not purely.”
Yeah, but Eckhart thinks the film sucks, right? No way…
“It’s not simple, and it gets ugly. I think people will be surprised.”
Discuss: Will Two-Face’s face be nastier than the mugs of Fred Krueger and Noriega combined? Awesome.
Can you imagine if The Dark Knight was the last Batman film for actor Christian Bale? Clearly no person plays more into the monumental equation of a trilogy starring him than director Christopher Nolan. Bale recently spoke with EW about a second sequel to Batman Begins, or as the odd interviewer incorrectly called it, Batman “film number six”(I counted seven, Peter counted eight with the Adam West film)…
Interviewer: So do you think there will be a part 3 of Batman?
Christian Bale: Um, look, let’s wait and see…
Interviewer: Or, I guess it’d be part 6.
Christian Bale: No, no, no, no, no. [Smiling] Part 3 is what I’d consider it, yeah, I don’t say part 6. Batman begins – that was the beginning there, with all due respect to the others. We are re-creating this. You know, obviously the decision is out of my hands. I would, knowing the Dark Knight story, I would like very much to complete a trilogy. And I think that knowing the story of The Dark Knight, it leaves you anticipating something that really can get very, very interesting for a third. Now, the question would be: Is Chris going to be doing it? Because to me I find it tricky to imagine working on it without it being a collaboration with Chris.
Sounds good, but it won’t be cheap. Bale was signed for three films way back when, including a Batman “team-up” movie. There was a time when a third film in Nolan’s series was strongly rumored to be the trial of the Joker (screenwriter David Goyer even said so back in 2006) but that piped down even before Heath Ledger’s passing, and Two Face’s appearance in TDK would also negate it.
With general interest already through the roof for TDK partially due to the best early trailer of the summer flock, and one of the strongest viral campaigns ever, the first sequel is going to rock registers and hopefully fanboys’ minds as well. A third film would be ideal and everything points to it happening with Nolan and/or Bale at this stage. But hey, it’s Hollywood, nothing is a sure thing.
Discuss: What are the chances we’ll see a Batman 3? If Christopher Nolan suddenly (and uncharacteristically) said, “I won’t do another Batman film unless it’s the last one…and I mean ever!” would that be worth a Warner Bros. handshake?
A while back we told you about Warner Bros plans for a anime-style six-part anthology that bridges the gaps between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Batman: Gotham Knight is directed by Bruce W. Timm, co-creator and producer of Batman: The Animated Series. The film’s six segments are written by Josh Olson, David Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg, and Alan Burnett. Each segment has its own writing and artistic style. Basically it’s The Animatrix but with Batman. Check out the first look video after the jump. The animation looks gorgeous.
Thank You For Smoking star Aaron Eckhart is in final negotiations to play Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, Chris Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins.
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