(re: please read my Batman '89 first) Happy with our partnership, meeting on our ideas in the middle we set out to make a slightly more adult movie. Just slightly. We each new it was time to bring in the cat. With Vale out of the picture Selina would be the new woman for the bat, Johnny Depp. We were also going to explore the darkness of Keaton's Dent. Burton was right to bring Keaton on board. Man that guy has range, from good to bad----likethat-----. He wanted the Penguin alongside Catwoman. I explained how I always felt that penguin was a joke (unless some visionary could make him a real threat *cough*NOLAN*cough*). Besides, deformaty, spewing black goooh ????? So we talked. Using Dents duality as a springboard we figured Gordon and Batman with Dent in the middle was a see-saw struggle of conscience, a triangle. So i wanted to intro Gordon's daughter who's full of angst and not feeling any paternal love. Gordon was becoming a father-figure, instead, to Batman. Another triangle. With this pattern in mind we needed a 3rd person, a villain, lusting after Catwoman. A truly crazy-blitz-out-of-his-mind kind of guy. He always likes to reference the older comics so we chose Firefly. So you have Gordon, Dent, Batman: Batman, Gordon, Barbara: Batman, Catwoman, Firefly: Dent, his wife, Gilda, and his career. And whatever else you can imagine (after all, this is something of an elseworlds [thanks] tale). So in keeping with my original cast I've added Barbara, Selena (Catwoman), Garfeild (Firefly)and Gilda Dent (Harvey's wife) and I've made sure Burton approves of each through some persuasion.
"Hey, Tim, I found this young girl you might like. She was in mermaids, a good little actress. She was also in Addam's Family, a movie similar to Beetlejuice. She fits your prerecs. Even though she doesn't look like barbara I think it'll work." (keep in mind it is now 1992, Depp, now 29, has, with everyone else aged 3 years!!!)
Christina Ricci as Barbara
Age: 12
and here's how I know he likes her
Burton has a thing for blondes, I guess they balance of of his dark leading men, idunno. Catwoman, though needs to be dark too, so we looked around. I found someone who never starred in a Brton-esque movie so I was aprehensive in pushing for her but I showed him 2 pictures 1(the 1st), what she looks like now and 2, her at 25 and dared him to find someone else that unbelievably beautiful. He didn't so our pick was
Marisa Tomei as Catwoman (the cat burglar NOT supernaturally raised from the dead by cats)
Age: 28
For Firefly I wanted someone similar in his darkness to Johnny Depp. A little younger, to show rational vs. irrational, playing the devil and angel on the shoulders of Catwoman. Everyone in this movie is in this twisted triangle fighting with duality, They all are ***EXCEPT*** Alfred. he always stays the same. Batmans Rock. Any way for the insane pyro Firefly we chose
Benicio Del Toro as Firefly
Oddly, he has never worled with Tim, but he has, on 2 occasions, worked with Depp. Here's 1
Gilda was'nt going to have manyscenes but each one needed to push Dent's charactor closer to 2Face. Hmmm someone who can argue with the craziest S.O.B., a pretty blonde, and Burton has to like her. There is this lady who costarred with Pacino in scarface... oh what's her name?
Michelle Pfeiffer as Gilda Dent
Age: 34
The climax has Cat disappear into the night with a load of jewels, Barbara crying as she watches the batsignal light up, and Dent argues with his wife who leaves him, and he breaks a mirror, staring now at a reflection 1/2 his reflection is hidden behind broken glass. Firefly gets taken to Arham, as he steps out of the car a familiar cackel (joker) echoes into the night.
3 years later and some parental criticism later (all true) W.B. makes some reuests/demands. I barely convince Burton to stay on board, Who knows what would happen with him gone ***cough Shumacher cough***. they request Robin and that the next villian not be a pyro killer. FINE. (remember everyones grown 3 years older) We looked for the next Robin and our non-pyro bad guy. A 9-year-old Robin is awkward, so we chose early teen instead. We looked hard and this is who we found
Andrew Keegan as Robin (just so you know, he's from 10 things I hate about you)
Age: 16
this costume is how it should look on screen. i found this scrolling for pics of Robin. I don't know the sight but I believe the artist called hin/herself KIZER180 (if anyone knows who did this comment here, this is not the only nice work done by this person)
The villian with some serious OCD is the Riddler (and this AIN'T your dad's Frank Gorshan Riddler either). He's not to be messed with. Played by the creep king himself
Robert Englund as Riddler
Age: 48
Burton likes old universal horrors but who's not a fan of this guy?
The story writes itself with Grayson's origin and Riddler's obsession. What sontinues to develope are Barbara and Dent. We see her training hard. Hmmmm what for? Dent scratches out 1 side of hid double-sided coin and forcefully lets his psychiatrist know he's done with his sessions (yes the moment we find he's going is the moment he decides he's done. Catwoman has a healthy 2 or 3 scenes letting us know she's around. Riddler does NOT get caught at the end. He vanishes, leaving a riddle.... I don't have 1 if YOU do leave it the the comment box
The final Batman we do is in 1997. Good thing our Batman started young huh? This ones easy. Burton what's to go out poeticly, He wants our finale to star Batman's 1st reoccuring villain. Dr. Hugo Strange. "But what's our story, Ager?" He asks. "Well let's use his second apearrence, you know the one with the mutated crazies." "Great so now we know Bat's has to show some muscle and witt this time. Are we going to use a couple of nobodies as his zombies?" "No way, this is it for us let's get some names out there." "How about Solomon Grundy, Killer Croc, and Bane"... "NO!!!!! not Bane he's a tactical genius not some lumbering lacky." "Agreed no Bane."
He didn't even let me give an opinion here he insisted on this guy for Strange
Jack Nicholson as Dr. Hugo Strange
Age: 60
I don't even have to convince you Burton likes this guy, do I? (Mar's Attacks)
Tiny Lister as Croc (there's noone else, it wasn't hard to convince him)
Age: 39
Carel Struycker as Solomun Grundy (MIB, Addams' Family)
Within this Strange story we follow Dent almost at his breaking pint in court with Maloni. The final fight pits Bat vs Croc, Cat vs Strange, and Robin aided by the surprise entrance of some girl in a bat-esque homemade costume (later revealing introducing herself as Batgril)(which,sadly, instead of bringing her closer to her father, her goal, it pushes them further away from one another) vs Grundy. The last few scenes are all Dent, burned in the court room and the unwrapping at the hospital. you never see his face (camera over his shoulder-type shots) but the last image we see is the nurse screaming bloody murder at the sight (over his shoulder here) of his scarred face. screen goes black and that's it for me and Burton.
Thanks for reading