In these days studios don't just shut the door on a successful franchise just because the story is done. If the third Batman movie is successful, there will likely be a fourth. I'm not sure if I want the series to continue but I'll briefly give my opinion on how movies coming after the third Batman movie should be done.
Something New: I feel like Chris Nolan only means for his series to last three movies. The guy doesn't want to be tied down just to Batman. I think he respects the material and doesn't want to run the series into the ground by continuing it past the point where it should end. I'll assume that he won't be returning for a fourth movie (there's already a bit of concern for the third). Christian Bale would be less likely to return if he left and by that time he'll be getting a bit old for the role anyway. Bottom line: things probably won't be the same after this. I think the best thing to do in this case would be to separate this new series from the Nolan trilogy. It's shouldn't start over or reboot exactly. It should use the Nolan films as a loose history while moving forward with a new feel. This way every fan would be able to choose whether he wanted to look at it as a continuation of the story or not.
Maybe something a bit lighter would be suitable for the new direction. It's not that I'm tired of the way these movies have been done, but it would be easier on the new director to not have to try to imitate what has already done. The new guy isn't going to be able to do a better dark and gritty Batman movie than what we have already seen. They could take the series in a more fun, action-oriented direction that would be less grounded in realism. This would give them the opportunity to bring in villains like Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Man-bat who would not have fit into the Chris Nolan universe. They could also take this opportunity to put this less realistic Batman in a Batman/ Superman movie and the Justice League. People say you can't compare the Burton and Nolan films because they're so different in style and what they're trying to do. That's what I think would be best for this new franchise. Being something that wouldn't be measured against the Nolan movies would help it to be well received while not running the risk of tarnishing what Nolan has done.
Plot: Like I said, it would be good to use the Nolan movies as a loose history. For the first movie, I would have Batman training Dick while dealing with whatever is the main conflict. I feel like Dick should be somewhere from 16 to 18 years old at this point. Robin would make his debut at the very end of the movie when Bruce has decided that he is ready. This would also be a good place to introduce Catwoman/Selina Kyle. I would have her play a part throughout the whole trilogy and take time telling the story of the Batman /Catwoman relationship.
The next movie would be Batman and Robin together. The Batman/Robin dynamic has to be handled carefully so it doesn't come off as cheesy. Relationships I would look to for inspiration would be Obi-wan and Anakin (Episode 2 and early Episode 3 starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen), Holmes and Watson (Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law) , and J and K (MIB and MIB2 starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones). Batman and Robin wouldn't always have to work together. They could patrol separately and work together for the major things.
For the third (since movies always come in trilogies these days) I would have Dick reach a point where he's ready to leave Bruce and work by himself. There wouldn't be a falling out. Both of them would just accept that Dick has outgrown the role of Robin and is ready to move on to greater things. They could possibly subtly hint at Tim Drake coming in and then lay the foundation for a Nightwing spin-off. Bruce isn't too old for Batman yet, so in the series would end with him still doing his thing. Then, hopefully, they'd be able to leave Batman alone for a while.
After this Batman franchise, there would be the possibility of telling the Nightwing story, a Mask of Zorro influenced Batman Beyond, or The Dark Knight Returns (which I'm really not a fan of).
Well, I guess that's it for my take on the Batman franchise. If you're one of those people who have taken the time to read all six parts of this, thank you. Also, thank you to all of you who have made such supportive comments. It means a lot to me seeing as this is my first article. I've got a lot of ideas about certain franchises and characters, and I just recently decided to start writing them out. (before I just ranted on forums) Anyway I started out writing my take on the Superman franchise and when I was almost finished, started writing on the Terminator franchise as well. Then my laptop broke due to a damaged hard drive and I lost all my data. It really sucked but I got a new laptop and while I was waiting for the verdict on whether I'd be able to retrieve my Superman stuff, I started writing about Batman. The original Take on Superman is lost, but I still have my ideas, so I'll begin my re-write soon. I've been looking for a place to post stuff like this and have my ideas heard. It looks like I've found that place in ComicBookMovie.com, so a big thanks to everyone who makes this site possible.
Check out the video version of this article here: