As many of you already know, The Dark Knight Rises will be the final installment of the Christopher Nolan directed Batman trilogy. It's also pretty obvious that the Batman film franchise is a cash cow, and WB will definitely bring a new version of Batman to the big screen after Nolan, Bale and the rest of the team depart. So what's next for the Dark Knight? Here's what I think we need in the next series of adventures for our caped crusader.
1. New costume: Batman has worn 3 different styled suits over his movie career. The first was a cheesy cloth/spandex looking thing in the 60s, and that worked fine for the time. Then we got the 80s and 90s rubber suits that got progressively worse as they evolved, and they mostly sucked (Bat-nipples, cod piece, bat-butt). In the more recent years, Batman has worn the Kevlar suit we have grown used to. The Kevlar works well for the feel and tone of the current movies, but we need something to truly set the new Batman apart. I suggest a milliskin costume like the one in Batman: Arkham City, but with one noticeable difference: the cape. Batman's cape should cover his whole front side - like a cloak. Let Batman shroud himself in it and lurk in the shadows, moving quickly like a ninja. He should be seen in quick spurts except for the final confrontation and when the costume is being introduced. Keep the audience on their toes.
2. The voice: Bruce Wayne should have a normal voice, but Batman needs a deep, authoritative voice. We need to ditch the growl that Bale seems so fond of. Batman needs to be just as discernible as he is frightening. When he's hunting for clues or interrogating criminals, the last thing we need is a Batman we can't understand. Remember, Batman is supposed to be brilliant, not just frightening.
3. Puzzles: We need Batman to SOLVE crimes. He's the Sherlock Holmes of our time. He needs to investigate and solve crimes, putting together the pieces of the puzzle in order to discover the culprit.
4. The villain: I'd love to see the Riddler again, but NOT a funny version. Let the Joker be funny. The Riddler should be mysterious and his clues should be tough to figure out. I don't want to figure out a puzzle before Batman. He's the detective, and the Riddler would be a great match for his mind. But what about his physical strength? We need a villain that can match Batman in the physical arena too. We know that Bane can do this, but Nolan has already used Bane, and we need someone else. I propose Clayface. He can start out as a psycho, and as the film goes, he can slowly become the more supernatural version of the villain that appears in the comics. We can have the Riddler be an unseen villain, while Clayface is going around killing people, and Batman has to solve the crimes in a certain amount of time or something.
5. Realism: This movie DOES NOT have to be planted in realism. Let a little fantasy creep in. Let the villains have powers. We got a realistic Batman in the Nolan films so let's try something new. I don't want some stupid neon joke like the two we got in the 90s, but maybe some kind of subtle fantasy that we can buy into. This would also open the doors for other characters like Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman to appear in small doses in subsequent films (if the director chooses to go that route).
That's my list of 5 things the next Batman movie series needs. It's just a personal opinion, and I realize that some folks may disagree, so sound off below! :)