As has been stated countless times by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises will stand as an end to his trilogy; and while many may be hesitant to acknowledge this – we will eventually be faced with a new adaptation of The Dark Knight.
Many are curious as to who will replace Nolan. Both Darren Aronofsky and Zack Snyder are being mentioned, but to me the true question comes down to story. I could care less about who directs the next film. Warner Bros. realizes how important the Batman franchise is to them and understand how financially successful it is to them, but the true question comes down to story. Year One and A Long Halloween have inspired the current Dark Knight trilogy, and I believe the next set of Bat-films should exist within the universe laid out in The Dark Knight Returns.
My primary thought behind this, is that in a way, Warner Bros. and Nolan could easily wrap up the current storyline (Batman is redeemed in the eyes of the public, defies all odds) but then could easily transition into a story set some time in the future, where Bruce is reflecting on those stories, and his triumphs and losses. With the emergence of a villain from his past, it could then lead into a 55 year old Batman leading a campaign against a villain like The Joker.
This would work, because in my view, you can address a history with characters like Robin; or even have Superman join the fray. Because while it exists within the “Nolan-verse” it would be distant enough from the current trilogy that they could do something like add in Robin without creating a lofty back story. Many of us know that Robin and Batman were sidekicks, and even the public audience knows that as a matter-of-fact. So why adapt those origin stories, when instead the studio could develop a story for the big screen that could easily adapt The Dark Knight Returns.
In this sense, the film would act as a reboot without a retelling of the origins. You would (hopefully) witness a battle hardened Bruce as he tries to accomplish much as Batman as he can for being 55. Battling much of the insanity that he brought into Gotham around the time of the Year One story that we’ll see played out in the Nolan-verse.
Now nothing about this would work, unless you captured the ferocity and intensity that Bale brings to the role. Much in the same way that Nolan won’t direct any Batman films after TDKR, it’s safe to assume that Bale would be difficult to bring back. By introducing an older batman, you can emulate those traits found in Bale’s performance without treading over his performance. In that sense, the actor would need to play “Christian Bale’s Batman”. For me, my number one pick would be Robert Patrick, just take a look at this comparison shot and tell me that you don’t see these two as people who could easily play the younger/older versions of each other:
I’ll close with this; there is much to support an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns. It would serve as a continuation of the “Nolan-verse” while providing opportunities to expand on characters and story arcs without being bogged down in origins. Unlike the Star Wars prequels, an adaption of The Dark Knight Returns would provide insight into a valuable story and setting that would take interesting characters and reinvent them slightly under a new creative force.
Plus, if it’s anything like Red, it’ll be worth it just for seeing older people kick some ass and being the boss!