We've come to the end of the Nolan run, of which I'm not particularly fond. Actually I'm not satisfied with any of the bat flicks. Burton's take was too quirky, though the first film came close to nailing an ideal tone...Schumacher's take was way too campy. And Nolan's take was too far in the other direction, too cerebral and cold. All my opinion of course.
We've seen perfectly realized versions of Superman with Richard Donner's amazing first take on the character and Spider-Man with Raimin's beloved 2nd film (I'm not a fan of that character but I wont deny the power of the 2nd film). But Batman remains elusive...he's a curious comic character because there are so many different ways to run with him.
Warners has stated they are already planning to reboot not long after TDKR is released, with Nolan and Emma Thomas producing. But I'm certain this is merely a vanity credit to appease fanboys, much like Burton's producer credit on Batman Forever...obviously he had zero to do with the style of that film and it will probably ring true for Nolan and the next bat film...he will probably be hands off like he was with Snyder's Superman.
So who would be a good fit for the next reboot? Here are my picks:
Darren Aronofsky
People hated his Year One script he wrote with Frank Miller, but Aronofsky has since stated he didn't want to make Batman and that his being attached was a bait and switch to get The Fountain rolling. If he were to take over the franchise now, he probably wouldn't be okay'd to script it, or at least another writer would be brought in to rewrite him like his current Noah project. But Black Swan showed he can do gothic darkness amazingly well, and handle the psychological complexities of a character like Bruce Wayne. And he's amazing with actors. No matter what he'd give us something to remember, even if it wasn't really a true Batman film, like Burton's 'Returns'.
Spike Lee
Not as unusual as you might think. He showed he can direct intelligent action with Inside Man. He's adept with complex characters and has a great visual style. I think he'd be an intriguing choice.
David Cronenberg
Another prince of darkness. He's been attached to alot of high profile genre films over the years that never took off with him on board. He's never made such a high profile film and I think Batman would be very special under his wing. Like Nolan, he is very good with complex characters, unlike Nolan is not too cerebral about it, and understands how to balance realism with genre fantasy. I'd argue he has a very comic book like sensibility as his earlier genre films show.
Ridley Scott
He has a hit and miss resume, but I think his visual style is perfectly suited for Batman...hell, Blade Runner could be like a future Gotham. He would shoot the shit out of a batman film and he's good enough with actors to make a memorable cast of characters.
Edited by Ambler - 5/2/12 at 12:24pm
