So Batman…The Dark Knight. One of the greatest series and movies of all time. Most people believe TDK was a master piece solely due to the portrayal of the Joker, but I don’t believe this to be true. I mean sure Ledger did an AMAZING job as the Joker. Definitely going to be hard to top in the future. But he isn’t the only reason the movie was amazing. Eckhart also did a great job as both Harvey Dent and Two-Face, and Oldman and Bale did great jobs in their respective roles.
So how do you top TDK? Do you bring back the Joker? I don’t believe so because it’s way too soon to bring back such a great character. It’ll be just they’re trying to capitalize on what made TDK so great. Maybe down the road in a cross-over or a reboot it’ll be the right thing to do, but not yet.
What about more psychotic murderous killers like the Riddler? Well if you were to bring back the Riddler it would have to be in a way that would be different from the Joker. I can already hear the regular movie going public complaining about the similarities over the characters. Now here on CBM we know that to be untrue, but most wouldn’t see this. Maybe the Riddler is a good idea, but it would have to be something immensely different from the Joker so that people don’t try to compare them.
What about more of the mob? YES!! This is required. The difference between these Bat movies and the Burton/Schumacher is the focus on realism and everyday crime. The mob and gangsters are real and the Nolanverse has done a great way of balancing the organized crime with the main villain. And Batman has an endless amount of crime bosses and groups to choose from. Rupert Thorne, Tony Zucco, Scarface, Penguin, Black Mask, the list is endless.
So the new villain…Supernatural or not? OF COURSE NOT. The way the Nolanverse moves has no room for Clayface, Mr. Freeze, or Poison Ivy. They just don’t fit. And even though we might want to see justice for the latter two, it might take a little bit longer to see it happen. If we want more success go with realism.
So what villain? Do we go with brain or bronze for the next movie? But is it too much to ask for both? Why not have the proper balance of ass-kicking with mind [frick]ing. We can have villains like a non-supernatural Killer Croc, Bane, or Deadshot beating the hell out of Batman while he’s in pursuit of a villain such as the Riddler who’s fighting with him through the mind. It sounds like too much, but why ask for a little when we can have it all?
And now that Rachel Dawes is dead where do we go with the love angle? Well most people would say Selina Kyle, but I don’t think this would work. Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman is an interesting love interest. She loves Bruce Wayne as herself and loves Batman as Catwoman. But this is a relationship so important in the life of Batman, that it should merit more than one movie. In one movie it would be about her dark past and in a sequel it would be about her transformation into the cat burglar we know and love. What about Talia Al Ghul? Well we have the set up from Ra’s being in the original and making her secretly evil to get back at Bruce would make for an interesting story. But as with Catwoman, we would have to have a large part of the story focus on their transformation, and with this being the last movie, it’s a tad unnecessary. So I believe the best thing to do is to go with a smaller love interest such as Vicki Vale or Vesper Fairchild. Both small characters that had important moments in Bruce’s life.
So where does that leave us? We have the mob, brain, bronze, and love. The perfect combination for a great movie. And with a great movie we need a great title. Many popular ones are Caped Crusader, Dark Knight Returns, and Gotham Knights. My favorite is The Batman. Every title has been leading up to and alluded to the title, but never truly called it out. It started with Batman Begins, a solid starting point and it showed obviously the beginning of Batman. Then the Dark Knight, an alias of Batman, was the middle point and conveyed that the public hadn’t completely accepted him yet. For the last movie, it’s time to show who he is and express it literally thus: The Batman.
So most are probably thinking that this movie holds too much. That something as great as this can’t be shown in just one movie. And I 100% totally agree, so I propose to make the last movie a two parter. I mean if they can do it for Harry Potter and Twilight, why can’t they do it for Batman. Batman’s technically a book. In my opinion, the proper way of ending the series is with two movies.
So how would I do it you ask? Well let me show you:
The Story:
It’s about three months after TDK. The city of Gotham is trying to move on from the Batman and Gordon is taking control of the police while a war for power is going on through the city. The two main crime bosses trying to take control are Oswald Cobblepot known to the mob as Penguin, and Rupert Thorne. And with them they bring their big gun henchmen. ON Thorne’s team he has Tony Zucco as his right hand man, and Killer Croc as his murderer. Penguin on the other hand has Firefly, and the finances of Roman Sionis behind him. Penguin is interested in taking control of Gotham no matter what it takes. Even if it means breaking sacred rules of the mob. As Gordon tries to control this he also has to deal with the recent murders taking place by a man behind the scenes murdering random citizens and leaving riddles behind for his next target. But Gordon doesn’t have to deal with this on his own. The Mayor recently gave a grant to the MCU and Gordon uses it to hire more officers to the force such as Harvey Bullock, Edward Nashton, and Renee Montoya. And through this all Batman is struggling to stop the gang war while trying to evade the police. And because the city is against him he has no help and this causes him to struggle with both sides of his life. And to make matters worse a masked man has come to Gotham vowing to break the Batman. He hides in the shadows observing everything until the proper moment to strike.
NOW FOR THE CAST:
Well of course Christian Bale as Batman
I’m one of the few that actually enjoy Bale as Bruce Wayne AND Batman. Yeah I mean the voice is gets annoying, but he fights well, shows the brooding hero look, and has trained extensively and read enough books to be familiar with the series.
Michael Caine as Alfred
This guy is great as Alfred. Whenever he speaks I feel inspired. I don’t know why just happens.
Morgan Freemen as Lucius Fox
In my opinion the character of Lucius Fox is important in Bruce Wayne’s beginnings, but as Bruce gets older he isn’t needed. Bruce should be making his own gadgets and taking control of Wayne Enterprises. But he’s coming back for Batman 3 so hopefully he gets less screen time.
THE POLICE FORCE Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon
Gordon is finally the commissioner of police and Oldman plays him fantastically. In the sequel Gordon should be taking control of the police and making big decisions of how to stop crime.
Keith Szarabajka as Detective Gerard Stephens
Gordon’s right hand man from The Dark Knight. He helps Gordon and the rest of the force while trying to control the mob war and the Riddler serial killer. He begins to feel the toll of the job and begins to discover that Gotham City is incapable of being saved.
Michael Madsen as Detective Harvey Bullock
One of the two detectives heading the Riddler case. He’s new to the force and his intelligence is questionable but his dedication is unquestionable even when confronted by the Riddler himself.
Johnny Depp as Edward Nasthon
Now my original choice for this part was Christoph Waltz, but I found that the part was better suited for a younger actor. He’s the other detective heading the Riddler case and is annoyed by being partnered with Bullock. He proves to be important in pursuing the Riddler.
Michelle Rodriguez as Renee Montoya
In the first part of the movie she has a small part appearing in few scenes, but in the second part she proves more important. Rodriguez is a favorite for the role and I can’t think of anyone better for it.
VILLIANS Al Pacino as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin
Most will probably see this as type casting, but you can’t say he isn’t great as a mobster. The guy is a fantastic actor and deserves the role. He’s even worked with Nolan before and we know how Nolan likes to bring back actors he’s used before. Penguin is important in the movie and proves to be much smarter than he appears.
Ray Winstone as Rupert Thorne
Winstone is undoubtedly a great actor and perfect for Thorne. Thorne is focused on taking down Penguin and taking over the city with Zucco and Waylon Jones at his side.
Carlos Bernard as Tony Zucco
Zucco is Thorne’s right hand man and does whatever Thorne says. Zucco deals with the business side of the mob while Waylon Jones focuses on the darker side of things. Bernard is great in 24 and would bring great acting to this movie.
Wesley Snipes as Waylon Jones/Killer Croc
Jones takes care of Thorne’s dirty work and serves as a physical adversary to Batman. Snipes did great martial arts in Blade and deserves to get back in the CBM world. He would be great as the dark and brooding Killer Croc.
Bruce Willis as Garfield Lynns/ Firefly
Most will see this as an unconventional choice, but I wanted an actor that would work as a great emotionless psychopath fascinated with fire. His voice and build is perfect for the role. Penguin uses Firefly to spread his terror through the city and mistakenly escalates the mob war.
Leonardo Dicaprio as Roman Sionis/Black Mask
Another strange choice, but he would definitely pull it off. And since Nolan is working with Jim on
Inception it’s completely possible he bring him onto The Batman. Dicaprio could the show the insanity Black Mask needs. Roman Sionis is drowning in the dying company he owns. He employs Penguin to help him with business while Penguin is secretly using him to supply him with arms. When Penguin double crosses him Sionis decides to take matters into his own hands.
Javier Bardem as Bane
The secret watchman of Batman and the city of Gotham. His purpose in Gotham is solely to prove he can kill the Batman. He lurks in the shadows watching Batman until he finally strikes permanently wounding Batman.
LOVE INTEREST Malin Åkerman as Vicki Vale
Akerman could bring the loving side, and the spunky reporter side of Vicki Vale. Vale is vital in bringing Bruce back to humanity. She doesn’t appear until the second movie while Bruce is trying to recover from his run in with Bane. She has to cover the Riddler story which leads to some interesting scenes between her and Bruce as he sees that she is going through the same thing the Rachel did with the Joker.
Second Choice Kate Beckinsale as Talia Al Ghul
Beckinsale is a great actress that could show the bad ass fighter and beautiful complicated love of Bruce Wayne. I know I said before that she would merit more than one movie, but for this her purpose would be small. While Bruce is trying to recuperate from the Bane injury, he travels across the globe to where he was first trained. There he meets Talia tries to heal his injury using an ancient technique known as Lazarus Pits. As Bruce starts to get better she reveals herself to be Ra’s daughter and they engage in a high octane brutal battle. After the fight Bruce feels he is ready to get back to crime fighting and goes back to Gotham.
NEW CHARACTER Hayden Christensen as Dick Grayson/Robin
When Bruce is defeated by Bane, someone else has to step in to take his place. Even though Dick hates the feeling of living with Bruce, he works as his replacement so he can get revenge on the person that killed his parents. Dick would be introduced in a much different way than previously shown, but the circus and the Flying Graysons are still involved. Most will hate this idea, but I want Dick to be in freshmen in college with a history of karate or other fighting experience. Some may think he looks to old, but a popular choice is Ian Sommerhalder who is three years older than Christensen. Christensen showed some great talent in the Star Wars movies, Awake, Life as a House. With some training and exercise he would on the role.
Sooooo…that’s it for me I guess. I have the first part of the story completed and half of the second part. I need to know…
SHOULD I RELEASE THE COMPLETED VERSIONS OF THE STORIES???. So tell me what you think about what I think and if I should complete the story.
Knight’s Out