FERVENT FANCASTING PAYS OFF FOR THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

I'm just glad we'll see Hardy AND Levitt on this. They were the best actors in Inception and had great chemistry.

Nightwing!

That Nightwing idea doesn't sound too bad...if done correctly of course.

I still hope we see Deadshot in there somehow. I know it's not going to happen but the fanboy inside me won't let it go.

*cough* Spider-Man 3 *cough*

But really, I'm down for whatever Nolan has up his sleeve. I just hope it isn't another villain, this film probably doesn't need yet another adversary, but I'll reserve judgement until we figure out who he is playing for sure.

Because im seem to have a natural thing for this character:

Firefly could be cool too, and he would fit in Nolan's semi-realistic batman universe:

Somehow I get the feeling he'll just play a brand new character instead of one based on comics like Rachel Dawes. 

<<<Nerd>> That's Firebug <<<Nerd>>>

Edit: For some reason I didn't read the Batman word bubble. Sorry. There is a Firebug though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Stockslivevan 

Somehow I get the feeling he'll just play a brand new character instead of one based on comics like Rachel Dawes. 

It seems like this comes up every time there's a new casting rumor, to be followed with "he/she probably won't even wear the costume" and "I bet we'll never hear the name Two-Face/Catwoman/whatever".  Rachel aside, Nolan has been a lot more straightforward with his interpretations than he's given credit for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes 

irefly could be cool too, and he would fit in Nolan's semi-realistic batman universe:

<<<Nerd>> That's Firebug <<<Nerd>>>

 

Edit: For some reason I didn't read the Batman word bubble. Sorry. There is a Firebug though.

<<<Nerd>>>Yes this is Firebug<<<Nerd>>>:

He could be playing Alberto Falcone. Or a cop working for Gordon. Or the new DA.

All sorts of possibilities.

I'm calling it now, he's playing Nightwing which is part of Batman's overall plan of having one white Knight and one Dark one.

Nightwing would be interesting. But how does one explain his existence without the whole "He used to be Robin" issue.

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Originally Posted by MoonBaseNick 

Nightwing would be interesting. But how does one explain his existence without the whole "He used to be Robin" issue.

They could just say, "He used to be Robin."  Do some flashbacks, etc. There's no need for Batman 3 to be that close, timeline wise, to TDR.

I’m not up on my comic continuity, but couldn’t they just drop the Robin origin altogether?   If they wanted to go with the surrogate family route, Nightwing could fill that role nicely without the Robin back story. 

I have to say, I love that Nolan seems to be developing a stable of strong actors to draw from. 

Nolan's consistently said his Batfilms would never contain Robin. I'm going out on a limb and staking a guess that includes Nightwing.

Actually Id go the other way. Robin doesn't fit in the Nolanverse but setting a slightly older ward up as straight up as Nightwing is perfect.

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Originally Posted by Ken Savage 

Actually Id go the other way. Robin doesn't fit in the Nolanverse but setting a slightly older ward up as straight up as Nightwing is perfect.

He could easily be a guy in early 20's who becomes a vigilante after a personal tragedy, and then caughts Batman's attention who decides to train and mentor him...hell, you could even do knightfall here, with Bane breaking Batman and having Nightwing become the new Gotham vigilante...the concept could extend to a 4th film.
 

Only 16 posts? What kind of Batman thread is this?

I'm only halfremembering from previous rumours and whatnot, but since Nolan's going with Bane, doesn't one character take Batman's place in one of the comics when

? (spoilertext mostly added so I can test with the new MB spoiler feature)

The idea of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a smarmy Gotham mobster makes me smile.

Floronic Man. Or The Ventriloquist!

Honestly I'm just hoping Cillian Murphy gets to be this franchise's Willem Dafoe.

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Originally Posted by Paul Allen 

Only 16 posts? What kind of Batman thread is this?

 

I'm only halfremembering from previous rumours and whatnot, but since Nolan's going with Bane, doesn't one character take Batman's place in one of the comics when

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Bane breaks his spine

 

? (spoilertext mostly added so I can test with the new MB spoiler feature)

Do the whole Knightfall and the following storylines in a single movie? I don't know how this would work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Allen 

Only 16 posts? What kind of Batman thread is this?

 

I'm only halfremembering from previous rumours and whatnot, but since Nolan's going with Bane, doesn't one character take Batman's place in one of the comics when

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Bane breaks his spine

 

? (spoilertext mostly added so I can test with the new MB spoiler feature)

He sure did.

 

JGL should play some dude that becomes Tom Hardy when he pumps venom into himself. 

But Azrael?  That would be pretty cool.  Cooler than Nightwing.  Plus, if there was another movie, it could be about Bruce trying to take down an insane Bats.  Or it could be part of Dk: Rises.

I'm pretty sure JGL will be a character from the Bats universe.  Nolan hasn't really gone out of his way to create characters not based in the universe.

Aside from the Catwoman thing, which was a "gimme", I won't speculate, Nolan has a way of surprising me. I will say that I hope the premature accusations of bloat and Spider-Man 3 syndrome are kept to a minimum. SM3 is a hot mess with all sorts of stuff that's poorly strung together, TDK is long and on ocassion, fit to burst, but there is *nothing* in that film that Nolan doesn't want to be there and that doesn't help him tell the story he wanted to tell.

I just think the broken back/Azrael/recovery story is too much for one film. I think Nolan's going to surprise us all.

Instead of character fancasting, the thing I'm really interested in is what Nolan's final assessment of Batman will be when it all comes down to it. I think there's sufficient evidence to suggest that Nolan has a fairly cynical view of the character, but like every Nolan protagonist, Batman's subjective point of view keeps him and the audience walled off to some glaringly negative aspects of his mission and personality.

That said, I can't wait for Daniel Day-Lewis to show up as Darkseid and kill Batman so TDKR can lead into that Infinite Crisis film that they've been trying to keep under wraps. I've got my sources.

I would guess he'll be a younger Hugo Strange. With the past 2 movies....most character rumors seemed to actually turn true. Hugo Strange's name seems to be brought up enough times. As has the mention of the "Prey" story line which had Strange, Catwoman, and Night Scourge.....who I assume will be changed into Bane ( I believe Phil pondered this thought as well.....and it makes sense). Levitt has the range and balls to pull off Strange. I like it.

Hugo Strange would also fit with Nolan wanting to use some of the villains who haven't been used in the films, or at least properly used, like Bane. I do remember reading that he decided to use The Joker and Two-Face in the second one because he wanted to follow up on the final scene of Batman Begins, and to use easily recognizable villains after using Ra's al Ghul and The Scarecrow in the first one. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnDirtyApe 

I would guess he'll be a younger Hugo Strange. With the past 2 movies....most character rumors seemed to actually turn true. Hugo Strange's name seems to be brought up enough times. As has the mention of the "Prey" story line which had Strange, Catwoman, and Night Scourge.....who I assume will be changed into Bane ( I believe Phil pondered this thought as well.....and it makes sense). Levitt has the range and balls to pull off Strange. I like it.

Literally no-one predicted Bane would be in this thing.

Remember the Anthony Michael Hall brouhaha? Maybe Levitt's playing Mike Engel's replacement, just to continue the fan-fuckery.

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.T. 

The idea of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a smarmy Gotham mobster makes me smile.

 Ehn, it just reminds me of the cameo in The Green Hornet. I don't think it'd work, for same reasons I give below...
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnDirtyApe 

I would guess he'll be a younger Hugo Strange. With the past 2 movies....most character rumors seemed to actually turn true. Hugo Strange's name seems to be brought up enough times. As has the mention of the "Prey" story line which had Strange, Catwoman, and Night Scourge.....who I assume will be changed into Bane ( I believe Phil pondered this thought as well.....and it makes sense). Levitt has the range and balls to pull off Strange. I like it.

 He's a GREAT actor, but he doesn't have the physicality for it. He's too babyfaced to be a gangster, and he's not bulky enough to be Hugo Strange. Hell, he's probably too babyfaced to be Strange too, since even if they ditch his "look", he still wouldn't come across as a learned scientist with years of experience. Even in the roles where his character is obviously over 25, like Inception and Miracle at St. Anna, he's still the "kid" of the movie.

 Now, all of this doesn't mean he WON'T be Hugo Strange. Just that, to me, he's far from being an obvious choice. Heath's Joker was a late-20's/early-30's whacko, but Strange seems to me to inherently be an older man.

 Edit: And yes, Cillian Murphy was 27 when he played Dr. Jonathan Crane, but his character is supposed to be lanky, and he's not babyfaced.

Honestly, I like the totally-debunked idea of Robin Williams as Strange waaaay better than Levitt taking the role.

I don't want Robin Williams anywhere near this movie.

Williams was good in Insomnia, and he's good actor in general. Yeah, he's done a lot of bullshit, and he deservedly gets a bad rap for it, but I'm pretty confident that were he actually in the running for anything, he'd know exactly what to bring and what not to bring to the film (of course, this point is basically moot, because he's not going to be in the film).

Also, Nolan made the comment that this will be "Bruce Wayne's story", so I fully expect the "emotional weight" of the picture to shift back to Bale, which is good and appropriate. At this point, unless really tangible stuff starts coming through, the one thing I really want to know, is if Bale and Nolan are going to listen to the criticism of the Batvoice. That is chief in my mind. A whole lot of TDK was a corrective on flaws in Batman Begins, the voice was not great in BB either, but it stuck out sorely in TDK and I feel it very nearly fucked up some otherwise strong scenes. They gotta get on that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Merriweather 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnDirtyApe 

I would guess he'll be a younger Hugo Strange. With the past 2 movies....most character rumors seemed to actually turn true. Hugo Strange's name seems to be brought up enough times. As has the mention of the "Prey" story line which had Strange, Catwoman, and Night Scourge.....who I assume will be changed into Bane ( I believe Phil pondered this thought as well.....and it makes sense). Levitt has the range and balls to pull off Strange. I like it.

Literally no-one predicted Bane would be in this thing.

 

Remember the Anthony Michael Hall brouhaha? Maybe Levitt's playing Mike Engel's replacement, just to continue the fan-fuckery.

Hmm...I seem to remember some speculation he could be Bane.....but to be fair, he was rumored to play basically EVERY Batman character not used yet. So I guess I painted it in a broad stroke. And yeah, I don't see Levitt as Strange (though I'd LOVE to see Strange in the movie).......but fuck it, I change my vote to Black Mask.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacknifeJohnny 

 

Also, Nolan made the comment that this will be "Bruce Wayne's story", so I fully expect the "emotional weight" of the picture to shift back to Bale, which is good and appropriate. At this point, unless really tangible stuff starts coming through, the one thing I really want to know, is if Bale and Nolan are going to listen to the criticism of the Batvoice. That is chief in my mind. A whole lot of TDK was a corrective on flaws in Batman Begins, the voice was not great in BB either, but it stuck out sorely in TDK and I feel it very nearly fucked up some otherwise strong scenes. They gotta get on that.

Wholeheartedly agree with the rightness of the story being shifted more directly back to Wayne. While Harvey Dent had the most noticeable arc in TDK, Wayne/Batman had an arc, too, and it's really the one driving the entire story.

The only time in TDK where I found the Batvoice to be silly/distracting was in the climactic conversation with the Joker. He sounded like he had a combination lethal congestion and smoker's lung. Though I did find it very weird that he used in without the suit when the Joker crashed the party.

With such a gadget heavy character as Batman, it's weird how hung up they are with Bale actually doing the voice, even though he obviously sucks at it. Just have him put a "modulator" gizmo in the cowl, have Bale use his real voice so he doesn't sound permanently out of breath and change it in post. 

Nightwing (sure!) or Joker replacement (uncanny and they wouldn't dare!)...

Probably neither.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stelios 

With such a gadget heavy character as Batman, it's weird how hung up they are with Bale actually doing the voice, even though he obviously sucks at it. Just have him put a "modulator" gizmo in the cowl, have Bale use his real voice so he doesn't sound permanently out of breath and change it in post. 

They do. They've never had a scene focus on it, but any extra guide book your read or concept material you see with details of the suit point to a voice modulator in the cowl. They definitely process his voice in post, and it's more pronounced in TDK.

Doesn't change how distracting it can be, but they're aware and have thought of it. From their view, deep in the daily thought-process and production of things, they probably think it's adequate.

The Joker replacement thing...nah, Nolan wouldn't go for that. Would he? Nah...right? I really hope not; it's not that I don't think JGL would turn out a great character, but rather that it just feels totally unnecessary (and this is without broaching the topic of "disrespecting" Ledger's work in TDK).

I think I favor the idea of him playing a non-hero/villain character, though. I don't really want this to get too busy with costumed types.

Quote:

Originally Posted by agracru 

The Joker replacement thing...nah, Nolan wouldn't go for that. Would he? Nah...right? I really hope not; it's not that I don't think JGL would turn out a great character, but rather that it just feels totally unnecessary (and this is without broaching the topic of "disrespecting" Ledger's work in TDK).

 

I think I favor the idea of him playing a non-hero/villain character, though. I don't really want this to get too busy with costumed types.

Joker replacement will not happen. If this turns out to be false, you can have my address to come personally fuck my mouth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renn Brown 

They do. They've never had a scene focus on it, but any extra guide book your read or concept material you see with details of the suit point to a voice modulator in the cowl. They definitely process his voice in post, and it's more pronounced in TDK.

 

Doesn't change how distracting it can be, but they're aware and have thought of it. From their view, deep in the daily thought-process and production of things, they probably think it's adequate.

I was going to post this, and yes, but....in the scene where the Joker crashes the party at Wayne's penthouse, and Wayne's dragging Dent into another room, he clearly uses the Batvoice without the suit. Which, given the thinking that went behind the voice (it's part of the suit to disguise his voice and make him more menacing), is weird.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renn Brown 

Quote:

Originally Posted by stelios 

With such a gadget heavy character as Batman, it's weird how hung up they are with Bale actually doing the voice, even though he obviously sucks at it. Just have him put a "modulator" gizmo in the cowl, have Bale use his real voice so he doesn't sound permanently out of breath and change it in post. 

They do. They've never had a scene focus on it, but any extra guide book your read or concept material you see with details of the suit point to a voice modulator in the cowl. They definitely process his voice in post, and it's more pronounced in TDK.

 

Doesn't change how distracting it can be, but they're aware and have thought of it. From their view, deep in the daily thought-process and production of things, they probably think it's adequate.

I am about as big a TDK apologist as there ever was, overlooking pretty much every flaw the film has because I love it so much. But if I have to read a guide book (or a forum post) to find out that Wayne's voice is electronically modulated as Batman, that is far from adequate. A throwaway line or obvious modulation would work wonders. Not to mention the "not sounding ridiculous" part.

This is the first time I've heard of anything about voice modulation.

The fact that Bale's Batman voice is actually processed is baffling. So this isn't something that just is. They actually aim for it to sound like that? Weird.

I hope Levitt plays some sort of mobster or cop character. Bringing back the Joker would be a massive mistake. Not just because of Ledger's death and all that. But it felt like The Dark Knight did everything that could be done with the Joker-Batman relationship in this series. The Jokers final lines worked well to sum up their relationship and the fact that their battle would never end. Lets move on to new challenges for Batman and Bruce Wayne.

Let me preface this by saying I KNOW THIS WON'T BE IN THE FILM:

BUT, The Joker would be in Arkham, or prison. He wouldn't have make-up on. Even his personality being slightly different could be explained ("He creates a new personality for himself every day") They could have found out his "real" name and not refer to him as the Joker. All you need is the scraggly hair and the scars as signifiers. For a Hannibal Lecter style interview scene, Levitt could pull it off no problem.

Just saying it could easily be done with minimal damage to Leger's legacy. They won't, but it could be done.

They tweak him in post (course, on a film like this everyone gets tweaked), but the "voice modulator" thing is just an "in the film" gadget. His suit isn't really kevlar, either. I see what Bale's going for with the Batvoice--he's trying to do the Kevin Conroy deal and have one voice as Bruce the Playboy, one for Batman, and then his "real" voice when he's around Alfred. He's just not doing it well.

eh, I never really had much of a problem with the Bat-voice in the TDK, and minimally in BB. I think that he really pulls off the switch between 'Wayne' and his own voice, but then again, he nails the Wayne scenes the best of any of the previous bat-carnations.

JGL is a great addition to the cast, and while I would love to see him as Azreal, he doesn't seem big enough. Nightwing would be the only 'hero' i would guess, and Black Mask would be my favorite Villain roll for him, as it would mean a crazy mask to cover his baby face, and let him chew the scenery ala GIJoe (which he was amazing in as well)

all in all though, this is shaping up rather nicely I think (especially for a third in a series. never a good sign to start with)

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Originally Posted by Renn Brown 

Quote:

Originally Posted by agracru 

The Joker replacement thing...nah, Nolan wouldn't go for that. Would he? Nah...right? I really hope not; it's not that I don't think JGL would turn out a great character, but rather that it just feels totally unnecessary (and this is without broaching the topic of "disrespecting" Ledger's work in TDK).

 

I think I favor the idea of him playing a non-hero/villain character, though. I don't really want this to get too busy with costumed types.

Joker replacement will not happen. If this turns out to be false, you can have my address to come personally fuck my mouth.

I'm holding you to that. Not that I want to fuck your mouth but a man must be confident in his words when he's putting that much on the table.

For the record I'm against Joker replacement, in case my post wasn't clear.