Armie Hammer's THE DARK KNIGHT Changes Its Title Following A "Friendly Conversation" With Warner Bros.

Armie Hammer's THE DARK KNIGHT Changes Its Title Following A "Friendly Conversation" With Warner Bros.

Armie Hammer's upcoming action movie, The Dark Knight, has indeed been forced to change its title, likely to avoid a lawsuit with Warner Bros. You can find out more, including the new title, here...

By JoshWilding - Apr 03, 2025 12:04 PM EST
Filed Under: The Dark Knight
Source: Variety

The Lone Ranger and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. star Armie Hammer is attempting a career comeback following allegations of sexual misconduct in 2021. Los Angeles prosecutors ultimately decided against charging the actor, but his reputation took a serious hit. 

Hammer was on his way to the A-List but is largely being relegated to what would have once been "direct-to-DVD" fare at this stage in his career. Last year, he shot Frontier Crucible with Thomas Jane and William H. Macy, and next up is The Dark Knight. Or not. 

The action-crime thriller made headlines for sharing a title with 2008's The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed Batman movie starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. Had it not been for that, chances are it would have been announced and quickly forgotten; either way, a name change has followed. 

Variety has confirmed that The Dark Knight's title is now Citizen Vigilante. The movie, written and directed by filmmaker Uwe Boll (BloodRayne), will see Hammer play Sanders, a man who takes justice into his own hands and sets out to hunt down criminals. His vigilante crusade turns him into a social media sensation and a hero in the eyes of the public.

"We had a very friendly conversation with Warner Bros. and decided to change our title to 'Citizen Vigilante' to avoid any confusion with Warners’ famous character," Boll said today.

Executive producer Michael Roesch added, "We also got a lot of feedback from fans, who asked us to change the title because of its similarity with Chris Nolan’s movie, so this was another factor in changing the title." 

He explained that Warner Bros. "contacted us and asked us to change the title. It was a very amicable discussion." Roesch also acknowledged that the movie's creative team received "a lot of feedback through social media, emails and comments to articles in the media."

The backlash to the news that Hammer's next movie would be titled The Dark Knight was vocal, so this change isn't hugely surprising. 

Citizen Vigilante was shot entirely in and around Zagreb, Croatia. "It is set in an Eastern European city, and while we don’t mention the name of the city in the movie, people who know the city will recognize it is Zagreb, so it is set in Croatia," Roesch explained. "But it is a universal story and could play in every bigger European city."

The movie doesn't have a release date but will be at this year's Cannes Film Market. "Although we are ahead of schedule, the full movie will most likely not be finished by then," Roesch noted.

Are you looking forward to checking out The Dark Knight Citizen Vigilante?

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Wahhvacado
Wahhvacado - 4/3/2025, 12:41 PM
I'm sure it was a brief conversation

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 4/3/2025, 12:42 PM
whats the new name?
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 12:45 PM
@harryba11zack -

The article says Citizen Vigilante.
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 4/3/2025, 1:03 PM
@harryba11zack - Pool Party at Seymour Butts.
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 4/3/2025, 1:09 PM
@harryba11zack - You must have been pressed for time to skip over reading it to just post the question instead, and come back yet again for the reply as well.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 1:15 PM
@harryba11zack -

Hungry Hungry Hammers.
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 4/3/2025, 1:38 PM
@IAmAHoot - Its a josh article, if it's not in the title and a sexy photo then I dont read.
RacialPowerman
RacialPowerman - 4/3/2025, 3:57 PM
@harryba11zack - "Citizen Eater",is the name they went with from what I read.
CoHost
CoHost - 4/3/2025, 12:44 PM
"Friendly"?

Was Tony Soprano there? WB owns him.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 4/3/2025, 12:46 PM
"Friendly Conversation"
User Comment Image
DarthAlgar
DarthAlgar - 4/3/2025, 12:50 PM
@MisterBones - Warner Bros board room:

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MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 12:49 PM
He'll take a bite out of crime.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/3/2025, 12:50 PM
WB must be in desperate times if they are this afraid of a Uwe Boll movie starring a blacklisted actor.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 12:53 PM
@TheFinestSmack -

They don't want to lose money because grandmas accidentally order Armie Hammer The Dark Knight instead of Christian Bale The Dark Knight.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/3/2025, 12:55 PM
@MakeAmericaGrea - This checks out. When i was a kid, I asked for Beavis & Butthead Do America on video and grandma got me George of the Jungle. Those two don't even have the same name.
Ikusa
Ikusa - 4/3/2025, 12:59 PM
@TheFinestSmack - Oof. Tough break. My brother bought it for me Christmas 1997 when I was 10.

My mother wasn't thrilled about it, but eventually she stopped giving a shit and would just let me watch the series. Then South Park came around that following year, and again that was a no-no before she eventually stopped caring.
SodaBurps
SodaBurps - 4/3/2025, 1:05 PM
@TheFinestSmack - I wanted to see Death Race but my sister got Death Racers starring the Insane Clown Posse by mistake.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 4/3/2025, 1:16 PM
@TheFinestSmack - HA HAAAA I forgot that this was an Uwe Boll joint. Up there with Bruno Mattei and Nico Mastorakis on the Mount Rushmore of schlock auteurs.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/3/2025, 2:08 PM
@Ikusa - Funniest part is that I enjoyed George of the Jungle haha. It was a fun movie. I eventually picked up B&B later in the year.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/3/2025, 2:09 PM
@SodaBurps - Oh damn. I'm sorry that happened to you.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/3/2025, 2:12 PM
@Clintthahamster - I think at this point, hiring someone like Hammer and then having the plan to name the film "The Dark Knight" were both just publicity stunts to finally get people talking about Boll again. Otherwise nobody would know he was even still making movies.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 4/3/2025, 3:22 PM
@TheFinestSmack - Uwe Boll, the man who challenged his critics to a boxing match in the midst of releasing 7 whole-ass films between 2005 and 2007, doing something absurd for publicity?!

User Comment Image
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/3/2025, 3:24 PM
@Clintthahamster - User Comment Image
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 4/3/2025, 3:57 PM
@TheFinestSmack - The image isn't showing up for me, but I'll assume it was something trenchant.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 4/4/2025, 12:09 AM
@Clintthahamster - WTH is up with gifs here lately? It was supposed to be a gif of Uwe Boll beating the piss out of a critic.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 4/4/2025, 6:14 AM
@TheFinestSmack - I've found that only GIPHY.com links work reliably. Anything else is a crapshoot.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 4/3/2025, 12:52 PM
He bit Zaslav didn't he?

😮‍💨
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 1:06 PM
@JurassicClunge -

Warner Bros. security camera footage of Armie Hammer and David Zaslav.

?si=zyI1uvCNOO6AFuyJ
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 12:55 PM
?si=zTjEFMIOHtRak4hP
AscendedExtra
AscendedExtra - 4/3/2025, 12:56 PM
Uwe Boll's continuing career as a filmmaker is a crime against humanity
Patient2670
Patient2670 - 4/3/2025, 1:02 PM
@AscendedExtra - In an odd way, you sort of have to admire that he's still able to do it. I can't explain how, but somehow...
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 1:17 PM
@AscendedExtra -

He is occasionally decent.

Like with Rampage.
NoDaysOff
NoDaysOff - 4/3/2025, 12:59 PM
They had every intention of changing the title. This was all a marketing ploy to get people talking about the movie.

While it worked to some extent, the real test will be at the box office. Let's see.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/3/2025, 1:17 PM
@NoDaysOff -

I agree.
HammerLegFoot
HammerLegFoot - 4/3/2025, 1:26 PM
@NoDaysOff - Aside from this site, I've heard nothing about this movie
NoDaysOff
NoDaysOff - 4/3/2025, 1:28 PM
@HammerLegFoot - there's been others. Specifically reporting on the title conflict and Armie's 'comeback'
HammerLegFoot
HammerLegFoot - 4/3/2025, 1:34 PM
@NoDaysOff - I believe you
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 4/3/2025, 1:00 PM
Yep , a friendly conversation alright…

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Kidding aside , honestly the premise seems like it could be a fun vigilante action film if it wasn’t being directed by Uwe Boll of all people.

Also, Hammer truly has fallen from grace given he used to work with the likes of Fincher & Guadagnino to Boll now.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 4/3/2025, 1:01 PM
Just call it “The Cannibal Knight”
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