I'm sure that most, if not everyone, has seen The Dark Knight Rises by now. There has been a lot of speculation about the finale to Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy: Is Bruce dead? Did Alfred really see him at the cafe? Was he just dreaming? Is Joseph Gordon-Levitt the new Batman? I think that if Warner Bros. wants to fast-track their Justice League movie, they need to include the Nolanverse in the DC cinematic universe. If they do this then that would be one less character to have to introduce to the general public and would help to minimize confusion among the viewers.
Now on to how I think they should use both Gordon Levitt's "Robin" John Blake and Bale's Bruce Wayne. Bruce is off in who-knows-where with Selina Kyle at the end of TDKR, and it appears that John Blake will be taking over the mantle of Batman. Bruce seems to be happily retired and enjoying his new life. I saw today on the internet that John Blake's Batman could be featured in an after credits sequence with Superman and Jim Gordon at the end of Man of Steel. While I would want Gary Oldman to return as Gordon, I don't think that he should be featured in the post credits scene for the Man of Steel. How I think the two universes could be connected by one after credits sequence connected to the Man of Steel goes like this: John Blake's Batman is overlooking the Gotham skyline at night from on top of a building or something like that, when all of the sudden we see Henry Cavill's Superman land behind Batman and say "Batman, there is a threat that no one hero can handle alone. I need your help" and then the rest of the credits begin to roll. I think that this would be a perfect way to connect the two separate universes in a very simple and exciting way.
Now to the actual Justice League movie. I think that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Batman should be killed either halfway through or at the end of the first Justice League movie. If he is killed during the second act of the movie, he could be the Phil Coulson-esque death that brings the team together so that they can stop whatever threat there is. This route could be effective but may be criticized as being to similar to The Avengers, so I have another idea: kill him in the final battle. The movie could end with all of the heroes at John Blake's/Batman's funeral. This would be an emotional, depressing and powerful ending to the movie.
Either of these endings would lead to Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement (for the second time) to become Batman once again. We could see Bale's Bruce Wayne return in the post credits scene for the first Justice League movie and then have hime return in either a team-up movie with Superman or a sequel/reboot to TDKR. They could bring Bale back and slowly begin to introduce the more superpowered and less realistic elements that Christopher Nolan decided to leave out of his universe. This would allow Warner Bros. to continue with the Nolanverse but also add some new elements that would help it fit better with the Justice League. I think that if Warner Bros. decided to use this structure for Batman in the Justice League movie, not only would it stay true to the ending of TDKR, but it would also give us a chance to see Gordon-Levitt as Batman and still get Bruce Wayne as the main Batman for the rest of the sequels/spinoffs.
(Who knows, maybe Joseph Gordon-Levitt could then return as the Red Hood??)
I know Christian Bale said he would only play Batman again if Christopher Nolan were involved, and so far it seems like he is going to be heavily involved in the DC cinematic universe, contrary to his past comments. Anyway, these are just a fan's ideas on how to utilize what is already in place to help create a connected DC cinematic universe that would minimize the confusion among the general viewing audience.
Who do you think should play Batman in the Justice League? Should John Blake be the new Batman? Do you like my ideas of how to bring back Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne? Should they just cast a completely new Bruce? Leave your comments in the comments section!!!