Is it wise for WB to put Nolan's Batman in new Superman?

I was thinking that given the announcement that Batman 3 will happen, and that a new Superman has been greenlighted, would it make sense to use Nolan's Batman in the new Supes?

My reasoning goes beyond some kind of fanboy desire to do so. It's strictly from a smart business sense perspective. It's pretty much a guarantee that Batman 3 will be a huge success, coming off of DK. Superman, on the other hand, doesn't have the same assurances after the lackluster reception to Returns. As a boost to a new Superman franchise and a way of building anticipation for the return of Supes, I think having Batman appear in the new franchise could be a shrewd decision. Mind you, I'm talking strictly from an excitement building perspective, not personal feelings about it.

Personally, if done right, I think it would be exciting as well as great for the new Supes franchise. I believe the new Superman movie, if it's great will do perfectly fine, but a chance to have these two characters meet onscreen for the first time would also do wonders for the build up to it's release. I would NOT want some kind of cheesy crossover just for the sake of doing it, however I would have faith in Nolan's ability to pull it off.

I think it should strictly be a brief cameo as the new franchise should stand on it's own. However, a brief interaction between the two, perhaps short fight with a minor villain would create all kinds of hype for the new Superman movie.

So two parts to the question, do you think it would be wise from the studio's perspective to do it for the reasons I initially described, and personally how would you feel about it?

Putting aside what I think about Nolan's "realism", and whether I think it could work from a personal perspective, you didn't address the first part of the question which is whether it would be a shrewd move from a marketing perspective to increase anticipation for a franchise that had lackluster results the last time around. Keep in mind, that the average filmgoer isn't going to go "Gee, I dunno if Superman fits with Nolan's ultra real Batman universe". They're going to go "Cool. Batman's going to be in the new Superman film!"

I get all the "Nolan's universe" stuff. We've heard it a lot ever since he took over Batman. I get it. That's why I made it a two part question. The first part for is for a non personal opinion of it being a wise move strictly from the standpoint of creating excitement for the franchise, especially given the reception to Returns. This involves, of course, leaving out what you think Nolan will do, what you think he should do, etc. and looking at it strictly from the point of view of generating buzz for the film.

It also involves taking into account that the average moviegoer (ie, the ones that make these sorts of films into blockbusters) don't really care about Nolan's realistic universe. They care about spectacle. Batman and Superman on screen together =spectacle (especially if done great). This spectacle = heavy buzz. New Superman movie could benefit from heavy buzz, given Returns. That's my point from the marketing, not personal, standpoint. I'm interested in seeing who agrees/disagrees with this perspective, and why.

So you think that it would actually hurt, or at least not help the Superman reboot from the general audience perspective. OK.

First of all, it's "aping" Marvel to do something that has been part of DC history for 50 years? Secondly, having Superman and Batman appear in the same movie is something that's been discussed for far longer than Marvel's upcoming plans. It's also something fans of both properties have wanted to see for a long time. It would hardly be "aping".

With all due respect to the views given here, I really think that most of the negativity regarding the pure marketing aspect of the move stems from personal views seeping over into the opinion. You could think it was personally the worst idea that could ever happen on celluloid and yet grudgingly admit that it would be shrewd from a business standpoint.

As I indicated earlier, the general moviegoing public (ya know, the ones that made Transformers and any number of crappy movies into big blockbusters) doesn't give a shit about "aping" Marvel, about Nolan's "realism", or any of that. They want spectacle in a movie. Period. Featuring the Batman character from the enormously popular Nolan run as an element in the new Supes movie gives that movie a huge boost in buzz, which could only benefit a movie that has some question marks surrounding it, given reception to Returns. I honestly can't see how that would NOT be the case.

Nolan's track record? lol. DK didn't become the third highest grossing movie ever because of Nolan's track record. Ledger's death certainly played a part in it, but it was a mixture of things and if you think Batman himself played little to no part in it, then you're just wrong. People were going to see a BATMAN flick primarily for other reasons? I find that hard to believe. Therefore, I also find it hard to believe that given that Batman 3 will have happened that summer, and undoubtedly gone on to worldwide success that it could do anything but help the new Supes franchise. I also don't believe that merely having Nolan's Batman make a small cameo in the new Supes movie automatically means the movie can't create it's own universe and legacy.

I understand disagreeing with it as a marketing strategy. But saying it would be a "stupid" marketing strategy, considering everything, reeks of personal bias intruding on your ability to be objective about it IMO.

But I do appreciate the recent opinions from people explaining why they disagree with it as a marketing tactic.

1. Batman 3 will be released that summer and will undoubtedly be a worldwide hit. Having a Supes trailer featuring a glimpse of Batman (along with the anticipation of a new (possibly good to great) Supes movie would do nothing to translate to increased ticket sales? I find that really hard to believe.

2. 6 (will be 7 by 2012) Batman movies since 1989 sorta contradicts the idea that general audiences aren't into Batman. Sure his rogues gallery is important but he's also one of the top 3 most popular superheroes ever. He's plenty loved, and just because he's taken somewhat of a backseat at times in Nolan's flicks doesn't mean audiences don't love the character.

3. You state as if it's FACT that it would automatically be a clusterfuck. Your opinion is that it would be, but the fact is that we just don't know. Harder things have been attempted in life than introducing Nolan's Batman into a brief cameo in a Superman movie so let's not be so hyperbolic. What could be, isn't necessarily what WOULD be.

I personally believe that a lot of people are so opposed to the idea of having Nolan's Batman anywhere near a Superman movie that they can't be objective about whether it would help a new Superman movie from a marketing standpoint. In my opinion, for all the reasons I outlined, it would at the very least not HURT a Superman movie, and has a lot of potential to HELP it. I just can't see how that's "stupid".

Again, I can understand thinking it would be better off not happening, from a marketing standpoint but I can't understand thinking it would be "stupid" from that point of view. I can even understand personally feeling it would be "stupid" as far as whether you would want to see it. Just not from a purely buzz/hype creating/financial standpoint on the part of WB.