In his LA Times interview, Christopher Nolan reiterates that not only is his Batman living in his own universe, but that so would his Superman.
This is wrong.
Look, I don’t want to tell the guy who directed the (now) third biggest movie of all time how to do his job, but walling off these characters is pointless. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned from decades of comic books it’s that playing in a big, shared universe isn’t just fun, it’s profitable.
I get where Nolan is coming from. His Batman standing toe to toe with Superman would be weird. What he doesn’t seem to get is that this is great. It should be weird. It should be weird for both of them. And it should be a way of exploring these characters further by looking at how they react to others, and how they react to situations far beyond them. You have to be careful not to break these characters, as has happened to them when misused in comic book crossovers, and Batman probably should never go toe to toe with Darkseid. But to have Batman live in a larger universe where there are others who do what he does – but in very different ways and often with the aid of superhuman powers – redefines him in an interesting light.
Even if Nolan is going to be really precious about sharing his Batman, the fans love the illusion of a larger universe. I remember walking out of Batman Forever fucking buzzing because they namedropped Metropolis in the film. Sometimes this kind of fan service can be ridiculous, but sometimes it can be really fun and intriguing. And as Marvel Studios proved with Iron Man even a quick cameo can have the fanbase excited in major ways.
Which is why Nolan, if he wanted to be a team player at Warner Bros (and there was a rumor floating two weeks ago that WB wanted him to not only godfather Superman but also Justice League) should let Lucius Fox show up in Green Lantern. The fanwank of it is simple: Hal Jordan, test pilot for Ferris Aviation, walks in on a meeting where Lucius Fox of WayneTech is showing Carol Ferris the latest design in stealth technology or something. It’s small, it’s simple, it doesn’t have Batman shaking hands with Green Lantern himself, and it’s easily ignorable.
Most of all it’s fun. It’s the kind of thing that lights up the fanbase. It’s not overly pandering. It’s a big Easter Egg for those who care to pay attention. And it opens the door just a little bit that maybe we could see something larger, something more overarching, in the future.
So loosen up, Nolan. Tear down these walls around Gotham City. Accept the fact that sometimes letting other people play with your toys is kind of liberating.
19 comments
yeah, crossovers can be cool….but wait a second…did you just invoke batman forever as part of your argument?
"Hai – deyz Alliens in da Predatoor's spay-ship!!!! WOOT!!!!" Cross-overs in film…not so good. In comics it's okay coz who gives a fuck.
I enjoy it when Devin constantly rips on overager fans of film franchises he dislikes, and then writes an earnest editorial on how Batman's mechanic should meet Green Lantern's boss. I hope you're listening, Christopher Nolan. Maybe if you took Devin's advice you wouldn't be such a fucking failure. Have fun in director jail, you hack!
I say let them be separate. Nolan's Batman films exist in a very non-fantastic world, where he and his villains are the exceptions, not the rule. Introducing a Superman reference, however slight, could only open the floodgates for another Paul W.S. Andersen to step in and take a shit on both movies in the future. Actually the insular universe of Alien is a pretty good point of comparison. All it took was 3 seconds of film footage to flush two perfectly good movie monsters down the drain (I say that barring Alien: Resurrection).
Didn't see akycxg's comment about Alien/Predator before I made my own. But yeah, totally agree.
Did the above posters even read the article in full? Devin made a valid point. Little Easter Eggs are a great idea. How is a super human alien any less realistic than a billionaire helping a city unless it was tax-deductible? I personally don't see the point in rewriting the DC universe to delude oneself with "realism." The success of TDK had more to do with Ledger's portrayal and death than any thing Nolan did. After the Joker exited the stage the whole movie turned to shit.
@#6: "Little Easter Eggs" = Alien Vs Predator. END. OF. ARGUMENT.
they also named Gotham City in Superman Returns.. this means nothing. so shut up. all of you 🙂
I'm going to have to agree with Devin and Thaimyshu: I don't like how Nolan is handling the DC universe by isolating each character to their own city. What makes Batman so intriguing is when you juxtapose his status as a normal man with these fantastical, larger-than-life situations with superheroes, but Nolan's insistence on gritty realism is becoming tiresome. TDK turned to shit when its only genuinely fun character, the Joker, exited the stage.
I wish that Nolan would stop trying to make some Shakespearian, profound story and start letting his superhero movies be a little more self-aware of their origins. TDK felt like everyone was trying too hard to make The Godfather: Batman Edition, which turned me off completely.
I agree with Devin on this one. Nolan is being a little bitch with his precious Batman. He seems to have forgotten that he belongs to DC universe.
Batman should stay by himself. Especially this take on him. Nolan's built it all up to be as real as possible while still being fun, and he's done a great job for the most part. In fact the only things that are keeping me from really liking these movies is how they all of a sudden take a shitty left turn at the end and use technology as a form of pure fucking magic, squandering everything the movie has built up to that point. Introducing Superman would fuck it up just the same really. Batman's all about being a pseudo-regular guy taking on the superhero role and while it's also kind of interesting, at least initially, to see that juxtaposed with a real superhero ultimately it would just deflate this Batman entirely. Why the fuck would you bother building up a fake superhero identity when someone can just point at Superman and see the real thing instead of thug hearsay. I never did get how people in the same world could give a shit about Batman when there's this other dude from another city that can rip the fucking tops off of mountains. Do crossovers with the rest of the DC universe if you want to do that. In fact please do as that would be cool. Once you introduce one supernatural character all bets are off anyway. Just leave Batman out of it.
"I remember walking out of Batman Forever fucking buzzing because they namedropped Metropolis in the film." Way to sink your own argument.
Yeah, Nolan, take advice from the guy who's done nothing but trash you since Begins. I'm sure he has your best interests in mind.
Am i crazy or wasn't there already a reference to Metropolis in Batman Begins? What is this garbage Nolan is squawking about not crossing over? Is he completely daft to the fact people would go absolutely bonkers to see batman and superman in the same shot together? Make it a super duper secret. Don't let anyone know it happened. Make Bale deny it to death that he shot anything for the superman movie.
Ultimate Marvel…Duh!
I don't understand why "the public" would have such a hard time accepting different versions of Batman. Nolan Batman doesn't necessarily have to be JLA Batman. It's like accepting the comic books versions aren't the animated cartoons/movies versions and aren't the movie versions.
Sorry, guys. TDK certainly didn't "turn to shit" after the Joker was captured. Harvey Dent/Two-Face was fucking awesome. I liked that part better than the whole sonar and throwing dogs off of buildings part.
"Batman probably should never go toe to toe with Darkseid" Actually they pulled that off pretty well in the finale of "Justice League."
While I loved "Batman Begins" (and liked TDK), I don't think a Superman take in that vein will work all that well. Of course, Nolan is a good enough filmmaker to probably pull it off, but Superman is all about the fantastic. That's why I wish someone else were doing it.
OTOH, Supes is so well known that you really don't need continuity between movies at all. Seeing a new take on Big Blue every few years from a different director would be cool. Some could cross over into other DC properties, some might now. As long as they're good movies, people will go to see them regardless.
The Lucius Fox character never should have been in a Batman movie. Batman makes his own shit in the Batcave. Plus, I'd have liked to see Freeman with some other, more substantial role.
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