What Batman means to me
Before, I get into the details of my fancast, I would like to start this article by explaining to you what batman means to me and how I interpret the character. This will all make sense in terms of the choices I make in this fancast. I also would like to talk about some of the current DC Cinematic Universe and its future plans for the character of batman. Who I would like to see maybe take over the mantle when Ben Affleck is done and some of my favorite story arcs I'd love to see on the big screen. So instead of explaing it to you ,in this extensively long introduction. I'm going to tell you about what batman means to me.
Its almost the 75th anniversary of batman and Warner Bros. is highly aware of it. Already announcing their plans to make two animated shorts. News I wouln't have found without the great website that is comicbookmovie.com. This character has been a huge influence in pop culture. Starting with the late 80s bat craze ,when people were shaving bat symbols into heads. To Heath Ledger's oscar winning performance in The Dark Knight. Which would set comicbookmovies to a new standard ,put them in the ranks of such movies as The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, or The Shawshank Redemption. Then in more recent news the Ben Affleck casting in the new Batman vs Superman movie. The character has lived for so long and gone through many interpretations. Begging as a light harded crime noir comic taking inspirations of The Shadow and Sherlock Holmes. Also the dark, gritty ,and violent story arcs written by famous comic writers Frank Miller and Alan Moore. A version of batman that has gained so much popularity of the years it has become a defining characteristic of how batman should be interpreted. Dark, gritty, realistic, and harsh is what is normally used when describing in general what batman is. Shows that have gone away from that norm receive very little attention with fans. Batman the Brave and the Bold didn't become a huge of a success as the previous batman animated shows. Lets not forget the jokes and memes about the Adam West batman show. We've also seen batman played by a different race in the New 52 reboot. It seems that batman can be almost anything. Which is why it makes him the easiest out of the DC Cinematic Universe to adapt and the most difficult to get right. Certain characteristic about the character need to be placed in order that make him work on the page and the screen. If they aren't there problems could arise from both fans and the general audience.
In The Dark Knight Rises criticism was held for not only having very little batman ,but also in my opinon had a problem seeing Bruce Wayne not wanting to be batman. Which is almost comepletely out of character. So how do I see batman? What did this 75 year old man do to me legally to make me fall in love with him?
Batman/ Bruce Wayne is chracter who's secret identity masks the true person of who he really is. Bruce Wayne is the mask and Batman is what he has always been. He will continue to fight for justice forever and ever ,and he'll find a way to keep going. Never has the character not wanting to be batman. It's what he will always be. In some ways it makes him both a tragic and more dynamic chracter than any in the DC Universe. He uses his intellect and skills to stop crime. Without having the benefit of superpowers like some of his collegues. Its an admiration that I'v always had for the chracter. Its the will that makes him so dynamic. That will is installed in all of my favorite comicbook heroes. Its why I'm so obsessed with this
character. In all interpretations I've enjoyed them for what they are. Its easier to take batman in different forms because he's been around for so long. In fancast we see batman in different forms and argue constantley about how he should be.
My Opinon of Current DC Cinematic Universe and Batman
So it seems like I alreadey told you what I thought of batman in terms of the history and why I envy him so much. Now I would like to discuss what is going on in current batman lore. Which of course deals with the casting of Ben Affleck. Yet, before I go into detail on my opinon of that I'd like to talk first of what I thought of MOS. Since this movie is a sequel to the Zack Snyder superman film it will have a lot to deal with what I think the tone and direction will be for the highly anticipated comicbook extravaganza.
In my opinon MOS was a mixbag of sorts. On one half of the bag it had the potential of becoming a great comicbookmovie and on the other it felt like a Zack Snyder DBZ two hour CGI spirit bomb. With the extra bad dialogue to go along with it. I felt the pasting of the film was very off and didn't make you settle down for those emotional moments. I also felt there was some really bad dialogue making me squimmish at times when watching it. I also felt that there were miss oppurtunties to use lois lane in an appropiate way. She at times felt slammed into the script because she's lois lane and didn't really make sense in terms of the plot. I felt very underwhelmed by Micheal Shannon as General Zod. They gave him some really lame dialouge that felt not up to the standards of what I know he's capable of. I won't even get into the huge amounts of unncessary destruction since thats be plauged to death already. However, I would like to say that yes The Avengers, Pacific Rim, and even Star Trek into Darkness had huge levels of destruction. Yet, they were able to recongnized the death tolls that occured. In MOS it felt as if they built Metroplolis the next day. Its very contradicting of the movie to have such a realistic take on a charcter ,yet handle those types of situations in a very light manner. However, I'm not here to just bash the movie I still enjoyed it. I loved the cinematography. The acting I enjoyed even with a very weak performance by Micheal Shannon. I also enjoyed some of the CGI and some of the fight scenes. I also loved the first couple of minutes on Krypton. The soundtrack was also amazing ,it stuck in my head a lot more than most of the blockbuster movies last year.
I felt that the main problem was the script ,not necessarily Zack Snyder's direction. Which is why I'm excited and worried for this movie. I feel that the team working on the script doesn't have the ablilty to write well what is on their minds to the screenplay. David S. Goyer has a ton of creative ideas ,and when reading the synopsis for the movie I was excited. It just wasn't executed well in terms of the script as how I would have hoped. Which is why I'm kinda worried of how this movie will play out. How is the Superman/Batman realtionship going to be full deveoped and well as the deveopment of Lex Luthor? Not only that we have the addition of Wonder Woman in the picture as well. How will batman fare into the equation in an inventive and new way that is excesible to both audiencesa and critics? This team I feel just may not be ready to take on a project of this magnetude. Sure it will look cool ,but when look for something other than visuals there's just nothing else there. Which is what a lot of Zack Snyder films are. I mean the trailer for Man of Steel was better than the movie. I feel that Warner Bros. needs to stop being so safe with their choices and take some risks. They took a gamble with Christopher Nolan and look what it accomplished.
I feel hopefull for future interpretations of the character of batman. Yet, not with this creative team. I don't understand why Warner Bros. go the Hunger Games route and find someone that could improve what's already been established. It worked out for them financally and critically. However, since it seems Warner Bros, have sink their teeth with Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer they're gonna stay until they [frick] it up. I mean a Batman and Robin type of [frick] up, where its both finnancally a disapointment and causes extreme fan rage. So lets talk about the recent casting of our new caped crusader. Yeah, you may have heard everyone else's opinon but not mine.
I first off have to say that when I first heard this news I was shocked. It was a very unexpected choice to pick him. However, I soon started to like and even love this casting choice. It makes a lot of sense. Ben Affleck since Daredevil has truly reinvented as a director and actor. He even won an oscar. Yet, people still think he is a subpare actor at best. However, I think this could be the perfect oppurtunity for Ben Affleck to show himself as an actor taking on the cowl. It also makes me more optimistic about the future of the DC Cinematic Universe. If Ben Affleck decides to take the reigns over David Goyer as the new head of the DC Cinematic Universe it would have some incredble results. I feel fine with this casting choice overall. Is he my first choice no ,but thats what has me excitied. Instead of just copying famous story arcs like Marvels been doing DC is acutally taking a chance by reinventing these characters into something we never seen before.
Now that all the prep works been done. Lets get into the real reason you clicked on to see my article.
Fight Choreographer
Yuen Woo-Ping: ( Druken Master, The Matrix, The Grandmaster, Fist of Legend )
The famous fight choreohrapher for such great films The Matrix and Crounching Tiger Hidden. He has help create some of the most searched fight scenes in of Youtube history. Or dailymotion, bing, other websites you might use if you have a trouble loading up Youtube. For a long time I wanted to see batman as the master of hand to hand combat that he is on the big screen. We may be able to see that when we see the new Batman vs Superman movie. While I do love Christian Bale's interpretation of batman I always had a problem with the way he fights not really the guy I could see take own one hundred goons at the same time. Which is why I wanted the best man to handle him.
Executive Producers
(Man of Steel, Prisoners, True Detective, Enemy, The Dark Knight, Dawn of the Dead etc)
Geof Johns is highly toated comic book writer and has been getting invovled in a lot of the live action adaptions of these chracters. Someone who has helped reinvegrate theses characters including batman will be a huge help in deciding how to best interpret them on the screen.
Nic Pizallatto is the creator of my favorite show True Detective. He wrote and produced a drama thats on the level of such great shows as Breking Bad. His realistic take on homicide investigation can help bring a cool detective type feel to Batman.
Zack and David may be a mixed bag in terms of quality. However, I do appreciate their ideas and input of how theses characters should be interpreted.
Denis Vileneueve is a new up and coming director with a distinct visual and narrative style that can help give Batman a new flare.
Composer
Johnny Greenwood
(Radiohead) English muscian and composer electric guitar, piano, bass guitar, drums, percussion, organ, synthesiser
One of the most talented modern day gutarist and musicians all around. He is the lead gutarist of one of my favorite bands of all time Radiohead and has a very impressive track record when it comes to soundtracks. He did the soundtrack for There Will be Blood which was amazing. He also created a couple of solo albums as well. Also it would be nice for Karma Police to be in a Batman film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZHoci2Wjs0
Costume Designer
(Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby)
Catherine Martin is an Academy Award winning costume designer known recently for winning the academy award for The Great Gatsby. What I want for my cinematic batman is to have a combined elements of the comic and the armored all black elements from the Christopher Nolan Version. What Catherine can do is create a Batman incorporated type feel with the costume desgins. Making it feel real and both familar in terms of how batman is drawn in the comics.
Cinematographer
Roger Deakins
(Skyfall, No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Prisoners, Shawshank Redemption Fargo)
A very famous english cinematographer who has known to work on such great films as Fargo, Shawshank Redemption and No Country for Old Men. What really caught my attention was his work on Skyfall. He brought an artistic feel to a blockbuster movie. I think thats what the next batman needs to seperate himself from the rest of the pack.
Screenwriters
Nic Pizzolatto and Denis Vileneuve
(Prisoners, Enemy, and True Detective)
I feel that this is a creative duo that could do wonders with each other. They both can set the right tone for a batman that could please both fans and audiences. They can reinvent the comicbookmovie genre the same way True Detective reinvented police procedral shows. They are the yound fresh team that can apply the same method that Nolan took with Batman in bringing the character in a new way.
Director
Denise Villeneuve
(Prisoners, Enemy, Incendies)
Denise Villeneuve really did impress me with the 2013 crime drama Prisoners and I go the chance to see Enemy his new film with Jake gylenhall. While I did think Prisoners was kinda of an average thriller it was raised up in quality thanks to this man's direction. I think he has the style, pace, and direction to do something really inventive with a character like batman.
Before I began my fancast I would like to say that these are some unusual picks which was the whole point of me doing this. So try not to complete me hate me for life. Its just who I think can play theses characters the best that aren't already picked a thousand times in other people's fancast. So lets get started.
Batman
Sullivan Stapleton
(300: Rise of an Empire, Animal Kingdom, Strike Back)
Sullivan Stapleton is an Australian Actor most recently seen in 300: rise of an empire. Which is a really bad representation of what this actor is capable of. He wasn't bad in 300 just so underwhelming and I blame that mainly on the dialouge they gave him. He amazed me in Animal Kingdom being able to show that anarchistic rage and is really good in Strike Back. With a director like Denis Villeneuve who is great when it comes to working with actors. I think he'll do a great job as Batman
Others I Considered
(Wes Bentley, Lee Pace, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Jeffery Dean Morgan)
Dick Grayson/Nightwing
Jake Gyllenhaal
(Prisoners, Enemy, Donnie Darko, Prince of Persia)
A very talented actor Jake Gyllenhaal has drama and humor aspects that make Dick Grayson such a great character. He also has a certain sex appeal that an older Dick Grayson is known for. Age maybe a concern for some people ,yet I've seen people Matt Bomer as Nightwing who is three years older than Jake gyllenhaal. He even has the acting ability to play batman. Yet, with a young baby face that Jake has he feels in my opinon a better fit as nightwing.
Others I Considered
(Adam Brody, Ben Barnes, Emile Hirsh, Aiden Ehrenmich, Ezra Miller, Jared Padalecki, and Sam Clafin)
Barbara Gordon/ Oracle/Batgirl
Kerry Bishe
(Argo, Scrubs, Max Rose, Red State)
Kerry Bishe is a New Zealand actress who's most famous work is working on one of my favorite televison comedies Scrubs. In which she was hilarious in. She also has done some really good dramatic work in Argo that impressed me as well. I also can't wait to see her in the first Jerry Lewis movie in a long time called Max Rose. She has the look and maturity to be a great barbra gordon in my opinon.
Jason Todd/Red Hood
Emory Cohen
(The Place Beyond the Pines, Four, Afterschool)
Emory Cohen is a young up and coming who really did impress me with his work in The PLace Beyond the Pines. For my casting of Jason Todd I wanted a person to have a Tom Hardy, Marlon Brando type look and presence on screen. The acting presence and type that is perfect for playing the rebilous robin in Jason Todd.
Tim Drake/Red Robin
Sterling Beaumon
(Red Window, Clue, Lost, The Pretty One)
A relativley unknown to a lot of people I'm sure. Even to me. I think thats the reason why I did pick him. I feel that you can't judge an actor till he's truly given a chance. I believe with the direction given by Denis will give this kid the direction he needs to be a really good Tim Drake. He's also a lot taller then you think at 6 foot 2 inches. He also really does look a lot like Tim Drake which also doesn't help. I also picked him because of him being such a high risk choice as well.
Others I Considered
(Liam James, David Henrie, Vincent Martella, Skandar Keynes)
Damian Wayne
Max Records
(The Brothers Bloom, The Sitter, Where the Wild Things Are)
Max Records has proven to be a very dynamic actor even at a very young age. I feel he has the age ,acting chops ,and swagger to pull of the cocky true son of batman.
Others I Considered
So good yet so young.................
Alfred Pennyworth
Alan Rickman
(Harry Potter, Die Hard, Galaxy Quest, Gambit)
Alan Rickman is an excellent actor who is known for playing excellent villians such as Hans Gruber in Die Hard. He is also very good at comedy with his work on Galaxy Quest. He has to tough look of the former english military agent and the warmness to the old advisor of Bruce Wayne.
Kathy Kane/ Batwoman
Gillian Anderson
(The X-Flies, The Fall, Hannibal, Johnny English Reborn)
An American Actress who has gained tons of recognition as Special Agent Dana Scully on the X-flies. He has the look and longevity as an actresses to play such a strong female character. She do the role justice in my eyes.
Jim Gordon
Brad Pitt
(Se7en, Fight Club, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglorious Basterds)
What can I say that hasn't already been said about Brad Pitt. He and Leonardo di Caprio are the only true movie stars that are still working this day. He has the charisma, acting ability, and with age he seems to be getting better as an actor. He also can still pull off action as you see in World War Z. I think he would be wonderful as Jim Gordon
Lucius Fox
Keith David
(Cloud Atlas, The Thing, Pitch Black, Requiem for a Dream, Platoon)
One of my favorite voice actors ever is a very charming and charsmatic person that will have great chemistry with Bruce Wayne. A very different tone and dynamic from Morgan Freeman.
Joe Chill
Ryan Hurst
(Sons of Anarchy, Remember the Titans,Saving Private Ryan)
An excellent and underrated actor who people really should see in Sons of Anarchy. He has a very sinister look and presence which is also is a benefit for unintentionally creating Batman.
Thomas and Martha Wayne
Eric Close and Sandra Bullock
(Gravity,Speed,The Blind Side, Nashville, Without a Trace)
For this casting I mainly was looking for looks and resemblence to Sulivan Stapleton's Batman. I also wanted strong actors that could play off each other well. With Geof Johns as producer and seeing how he made Martha Wayne such a dynamic character would make an actresses like Sandra Bullock to be interested in this kind of project.
Ra's al Ghul
Rodrigo Santoro
(300, 300 rise of an empire, The Last Stand, I Love You Phillip Morris)
Rodrigo Santoro is a brazzilian actor who is know for playing Xeres in 300. He is a very risky choice for this role. Yet, I feel he does have the look and acting ability to play Ra's al Ghul.
Talia al Ghul
Elodie Yung
(G.I Joe Retaliation, The Girl with the Dragon Tatto)
A French Actress who has a very small filmagraphy. Some of you may have heard of her being a contender for Zack Snyder's Wonder Woman. Very much an unknown which is mainly the reason I did choose her. I also choose her because of her ethnic background. I didn't want to whitewash the character at all. I think that with good direction from Denis she'll be a very good Talia.
Harvey Dent/ Two Face
Damian Lewis
(Homeland, Band of Brothers,Romeo and Juliet Life)
An amazing actor and is the heart and soul of one of the best tv shows I've seen in Homeland. He comepletely owns that role. He does a good job of balancing the good humble soldier to the anarchist ready to blow up american soil quite well. He'll be excellent as Two Face in my opinon.
Catwoman
Abigal Spencer
(Mad Men, Oz the Great and Powerful, Chasing Mavericks, Cowboys and Aliens)
A very good actresses especially if you are a fan of mad men. She has a very classy look almost identical to Julie Newmar. I feel that not only she has the sex appeal that Catwoman needs but also the maturity to add more depth to the character as well.
Scarecrow
Brad Carter
(Smashed True Detective)
An unknown actor to a lot of people but very familiar with those who know the show True Detective. He played the slimey scumbag really nice by my high standards. I think he also hs a very unique voice that fits the Scarecrow well. With the writer of True Detective coming along in this project it will be interesting to see how would intepret this chracter.
The Peinguin
Ian Mcshane
(Deadwood, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, Kung Fu Panda )
The English actor most famous for his role on the amazin show Deadwood. He has the snarky type voice that best fits the peinguin especially when you hear him a Tai Lung in Kund Fu Panda. He also has the look for the chracter as well. He is a really dynamic actor with some amzaing acting chops.
Hugo Strange
Alan Arkin
(Argo, Little Miss Sunshine, Get Smart, Glengarr Glen Ross)
Know before you start to reject this casting choice, I'd like to explain why I did choose this actor. Alan Arkin is a great comedic actor who unfortunately hasn't been able to show us his serious side. Yet, I feel with this creative team who turn Matthew Mcconauhey into a highly obsessed drug addicted homicide detctive. Alan Arkin could show us a side he's never shown us in his career as an actor. The only problem I have with him is that will he be able to change his accent well enough for the role. He is very risky which is why I did pick him. I think that with good direction he can do some pretty exciting things
Mr.Freeze
James Spader
(Boston Legal,The Blacklist, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pretty in Pink, Lincoln)
James Spader was the only reason I kept watching Boston Legal. He was the heart and soul of that show and is amazing in everything he does. He also go the chance to showcase his dark side in The Blacklist. I feel that he is a very dynamic actor that could give Freeze both the cold hardness and humanity he needs.
The Riddler
James Mcavoy
(Trance, X-men First Class, X-men Days of Future Past, Wanted, Attonement, Filth)
A very dynamic actor who has proven to be capable of handling action. He has the acting chops to show the intelligence of the criminal mastermind that is The Riddler. Has already played one of the smartest characters in comicbook history with excellence. Being the Riddler wont be a problem at all for this guy.
Deadshot
Michael Pitt
(Boardwalk Empire, Funny Games, The Dreamers)
A great young actor that has the marlon brando type swagger I need for a character like Deadshot. I feel that with the trust of creative team Micheal is gonna have tons of material to work his acting chops on. He also has a very unique look which is a benefit of his.
Now the two you've all been waiting for
(This casting will shock you)
The Joker
Tom Cruise
(Mission Impossible, Collateral, Jack Reacher, Magnolia)
This is probable to most controversial casting of all the ones I've made. I don't expect people to like it ,however I would like to explain myself. Tom Cruise is a really good actor. He gets a ton of smack for his crazy publicity and controversial religious choice. Yet, I feel that's what make him almost a perfect casting choice. He's crazy jumping on couches to that crazy relationshiop he had with Katie. I mean even Christian bale took inspiration from Cruise for American Pyscho. He was also amazing in Magnolia and Collateral. He's shown that he could play a pretty dynamic villian. However, I feel that no matter what I say you people will still hate me for it. I think he'll be great ,but hey what are you gonna do. Also let us not forget how an actor can reinvent himself. Matthew Mcconaughey was a joke until he starred in Killer Joe. The guy starred in shitty romantic comedies with Kate Hudson now I see him being in people's fancasts as the joker. So give him a chance.
Harley Quinn
Cameron Diaz
(Bad Teacher, The Mask, The Counsler, Knight and Day)
A very good comedic actress with both the sex appeal and crazyness to pull of a Harley Quinn. I also think she would have great chemistry with Tom Cruise as the Joker.
So that's all I have to give you guys. This was my first fancast hoped you liked it.