Hey all,
The final chaper of my Batman fanfic,
Crime Rising was posted on CBM at the end of August and since then I have been actively working on the sequel and the final part of the trilogy, with details coming when the second part is released. I posted a fancast for
Crime Rising around about when chapter 5 was posted, but I must admit, it wasn't very good. So I have updated it and changed most of the casting choices and in my opinion, it's much better! I expect most of you reading are thinking, "what's this guy talking about?" well have no fear! If you have never heard of
The Batman: Crime Rising, then simply click
HERE
And also, forget every hint or piece of promotional material for this fanfic, the story has changed completely. Which means that The Penguin is no longer the main villain. And finally, we begin!
Bradley Cooper as Bruce Wayne/Batman
I've kept this casting choice from the previous story. Even though this decision only garnered a lukewarm reception from my fellow CBMers, I believe that Cooper could pull the role off, especially excelling in the playboy part of the character.
Ben Kingsley as Alfred Pennyworth
This is also the same casting choice as last time. Many people just cast any old British guy as Batman's famous butler, but many of the choices don;t actully match the role, but Kingsley is one of the few that would work in the role very well. They nearly have the exact same look as Alfred from the comics.
Javier Bardem as Bane
Yes, The Penguin has been replaced by the man who broke the bat! I mean, Bardem would be a great pick for the role. He can get the accent spot on, he could bulk up enough for the role and get the menace right. Javier is 5'11" and Tom Hardy (the current actor in the role of Bane) is 5'9", so heart wouldn't be as much of an issue as it is with Hardy.
Bryan Canston as James Gordon
A fan-favourite for the role. Canston IS Gordon. He and Gary Oldman were born to play this role. He's already played Gordon in the animated movie
Year One and gave a pretty good performance in brilliant movie, so he would know the role well already.
Matt Damon as Harvey Dent
Last time I had cast Edward Norton as the Gotham City D.A, but after a negative reception from fans and some deliberation, I realised that he wouldn't work in the role. I think that Damon would be a perfect fit for the role and could handle the things that I have in store for the character.
Emma Stone as Barbara Gordon
And we get to the love interest of the story. She replaces Vicki Vale from the first story, and will act as Batman's equal in some ways. She'll act as a cop working along side her father in combat against Crime. Both Barbara and Stone are natural red-heads and are very pretty so everything is fine looks-wise.
Adrien Brody as Duncan Barons/The Red Hood
Now, I know what you're thinking. Is this the other villain in the movie? What does Red Hood have to do with what we have guessed about the plotline? That I'm afraid I cannot reveal until I post the story, but I can tell you that Red Hood is similar to Azrael from the Knightfall arc in some ways...
Idris Elba as Jack Safarra (Blackjack)
Who remembers Blackjack? The criminal that nearly took down Batman and stood up to Black Mask? No, well he has a bigger role this time around. Jack has given up his criminal ways and is now a trainee cop, working alongside Barbara and James Gordon. The character is going to work as an ally to Batman in this fanfic, and have a huge role in the third part. Elba is a brilliant actor and I believe he could pull off an action-oriented character still haunted by his crime-filled past.
Samuel L. Jackson as Lucius Fox
I thought it would be interesting to take a different direction to his character, and make him younger and something like an ex-weapons specialist for the U.S Army. I never really understood why somebody who was such an expert in the latest technology and can get his hands on the latest weapons in hours was such an old man. I aim to slowly introduce something along the lines of a 'Bat-Team' consisting of Batman, the Gordon's, Officer Jack and Lucius, and this element will become a major plot point in the third story. Come on, how awesome would a gun-toting Lucius Fox be alongside Batman, fighting crime on the streets but concealing his identity at the same time?
Well that concludes my Fancast! As you will have noticed, the title of this story is Batman: Arkham City so obviously it takes elements from the critically acclaimed video game, which means lots of villain cameos... I can confirm one thing, that Hugo Strange will return and he will be the warden of Arkham City, just like in the video game. Mickey Rourke will play Carmine Falcone, who has taken up the position of Crime Lord in Gotham City, but he is not part of the main cast.
What's that you say? You want to know more about the story? Will you be satisfied if I gave you a synopsis of the story? If you insist...
Pena Dura. Many people view it as Hell itself. As a child, Antonio Diego was handed a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit. As he was growing up, he was terrified by the bats that swarmed his cell, and embodied themselves as a Bat-like demon, a demon which would haunt him for the rest of his life. He heard stories about the city ruled by fear, and the human bat that ruled the city. The Batman. Gotham City was ruled by fear of the Batman. And that encouraged Bane to escape from Hell and set out to destroy the Batman.
Gotham City is a better place. The new Mayor has announced that Lower Gotham will be evacuated and be transformed into an open-air prison for the inmates of Arkham Asylum, calling itself Arkham City. Batman is cautious of the new Mayor's decision, and decides to keep watch on the criminal's activities inside the walls. But are Crime rates really down? Can Harvey Dent withstand the pressure put on him by the citeizens of Gotham? Can Batman survive in a city where Crime is inside every corner of it's infastructure? And can he stop Bane, a rising criminal mastermind hell bent on tearing Batman apart?
Of course I haven't mentioned
all the plotlines in the story, and there are still many more suprises left in store!