After The Dark Knight Rises, What’s Next For Batman?

So Christopher Nolan has finished his Batman saga with this past weekend’s release of  The Dark Knight Rises, accomplishing what is arguably the best and most satisfying super hero movie trilogy ever. Whatever one might think of TDKR, there can be little argument that it is by far a more fitting capper to the Batman saga that X-Men: The Last Stand or Spider-Man 3 were for those respective series. Nolan’s Batman went out with his dignity intact, and leaving audiences everywhere still hungry for more Batman adventures.

So the question is, what now? Batman is easily Warner Brother’s most valuable film property, and they aren’t going to just let it sit there forever when there is money waiting to be made. On the same token, Christopher Nolan’s trilogy has been so well received both commercially and critically that just jumping into a reboot now or anytime soon would make the somewhat lukewarm reception to The Amazing Spider-Man look like nothing in comparison. So my first instinct would be to not reboot it for the big screen at all, but for the small screen instead.

Option #1- Batman on Cable Television

After Nolan’s trilogy, I truly feel sorry for any filmmaker attempting to bring the Batman to life on the big screen and hope to compete with what he has accomplished. Which is why, If I were Warner Brothers, right now I’d be looking at other mediums to set my Gotham stories in. I really feel that now (or relatively soon) is the time for Batman to return to television screens. But not as a low budget CW Smallville type deal, but as a sophisticated adult skewing show on cable, preferably HBO (DC Comics owners Time/Warner also own HBO. Convenient.) Get a show runner with some clout and some geek cred, and this could rival shows like Game of Thrones and True Blood in popularity if done right. I wouldn’t even have to have Batman in the title of the show, I would simply call it Gotham.

There are a lot of reasons why to me, this is the ideal plan; first off, any movie reboot going forward right now (or within the next several years) is going to have the shadow of Nolan, Bale, and especially Heath Ledger’s Joker hanging over them. But television is another medium, and the comparisons won’t be as brutal, nor will the scrutiny be as high on any actors taking over these roles for TV. And with a show that potentially lasts years, you can really explore some of the best storyline is the Bat’s history. Can you imagine The Long Halloween spread out over a season? Or Hush? Or the recent Court of Owls saga? Television can tell these stories in ways that movies can’t.

Cable television also opens up so many doors for long form storytelling in ways the movies couldn’t especially in regards to Batman’s amazing cast of supporting players, almost all of whom were kept absent from the movie trilogy. Nolan and company were wise to keep the focus on Bruce Wayne and his journey in the Dark Knight trilogy, and keep the sidekicks out. But Batman has absoulutely the best cast of supporting heroes in the entire pantheon of super hero comics, bar none. Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin (be it Dick,Tim, Damian or even Jason) and now Batwoman are all great characters, great enough to have their own ongoing monthly comics. It is time they got their due.

An ensemble show set in Batman’s Gotham could have years and years of storytelling potential. Bruce Wayne’s adoption of Dick Grayson, his subsequent training as Robin, his transformation into adult hero Nightwing, Jason Todd’s recruitment as Dick’s replacement, and his death at the hands of the Joker (and subsequent revival) Tim Drake’s emergence as Robin and maybe even Damian Wayne, assuming the show gets that far, are all ripe for exploitation on television. Then there are the women; Barbara Gordon is easily one of the best female heroes in comics. Her character journey is something that would be fascinating to watch over several seasons, from brilliant police commisioner’s daughter to Batgirl to her crippling at the hands of the Joker and transformation into Oracle, all could make for riveting television if handled correctly by the right showrunner. And Batwoman may be a more recent addition to the Bat family, but Kate Kane has become a fascinating and integral part of the Gotham world. Shows on HBO thrive on amazing ensemble casts, and Batman’s world comes with an awesome built in ensemble, and none of them have had their chance to shine in live action yet.

And then of course, there are the villains. There are still a ton of Batman villains who have never been properly brought to life in live action, characters like Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange, and the Black Mask. And there are even others that are the more sci-fi/magic based characters like Croc, Mr.Freeze and Man Bat, who I would do simply to differentiate myself from the hard core “real world” aesthetic of Nolan’s films. I wouldn’t stray too far into territory that was too comic booky (so no JLA guest stars) but maybe a tone similar to the Arkham Asylum/Arkham City games…a little grittier than the animated shows and the comics, but still far more fantastical than the Nolan films.

Option #2- Batman Beyond: The Movie

All right, so say Warner Brothers doesn’t want Batman on television, and just wants to keep the movie franchise going and those box office dollars rolling in. The smart thing to do in this instance is wait a decade (or more) and start from scratch again after a good long time. But if they are going to insist on doing a movie in the next few years come Hell or high water, my suggestion is “look to the future”…and do Batman Beyond as a live action movie.

Batman Beyond works as a continuation of the Nolan-verse AND serves as an effective reboot as well in pretty much every way. SPOILERS for The Dark Knight Rises from here on out; if you have not seen it yet you have been warned. Imagine a Bladerunner-esque Gotham City, some 40-50 years after The Dark Knight Rises. Bruce Wayne, having faked his death in TDKR, is now an old man of almost 90, who has changed his identity and become the caretaker and sole inhabitant of the now state owned Wayne Manor. He lives alone there, under an assumed name, waiting to die in the house he grew up in….when a teenager named Terry McGinnis stumbles onto the Batcave after his father’s murder at the hands of the Jokerz biker gang. (which is all essentially the pilot of the Batman Beyond show) Young Terry uses a new high tech Batman suit with crotchety old man Wayne as his mentor, which can be either Christian Bale in old age make up, or just an actual old actor. I honestly couldn’t help but think of “Old Man Wayne” from Batman Beyond when I saw Christian Bale using the cane in TDKR, so I wouldn’t mind if it were him. I can almost hear the pitch meeting now; “It’s Batman meets Spider-Man meets Iron Man!” There might not be an easier sell than Batman Beyond to a studio exec than this.

If Warner Brothers are going to insist on a Batman movie continuation this soon after Nolan’s trilogy, this would be the ideal way to go. If you get the right director with vision, this could be a really cool and visually interesting way to continue the Batman franchise in the next few years and still be so very different as to not be instantly compared to the Nolan movies. Also, if they do this….they should really get Daft Punk to do the score. Seriously, listen to the TRON:Legacy score and imagine it as the score for a live action Batman Beyond movie instead. It totally fits.

Option #3- Batman in the Justice League 

We all know that if Man of Steel succeeds, Warner Brothers is looking to make that “Phase One” of their eventual climb to a Justice League movie, which reports say they want out as soon as 2015. If the JLA movie happens, there is pretty much no way that Batman won’t be a part of it. Also, there is equally no way that this version of Batman will be the same one as Christopher Nolan’s Batman, who clearly lived in a world without aliens or magic or any of that stuff. Any Batman that they use in a JLA movie would be an effective reboot of the character, but one that won’t be under as much scrutiny or scorn from the fanboys and the press than if Warner Brothers did “Batman Begins…Again!” in 2015.

Maybe having Batman in the Justice League is a good way of having your cake and eating it too; you keep the character of Batman on the big screen, keep selling Bat-merch to kids and geeks alike, and it won’t be as insulting as rebooting Batman’s own franchise so soon after Nolan’s films. Also, a JL Batman wouldn’t neccesarily conflict with a TV Batman if that were to actually happen; no noubt the characterizations and visual look given to Batman would be different enough as to not conflict with one another. Remember, Superman Returns was released in the heyday of Smallville’s run on tv. No one’s head exploded at the idea of two different versions of the same character in two different mediums. The moviegoers who are smart enough can figure out that it is two separate continuities, and the moviegoers who are dumb don’t care about stuff like continuity, the just wanna see explosions and people in costumes hit each other.

So there you have it…my ideas for what should happen next for the Dark Knight Detective on the big (and small) screen.  I see this article as an open letter to Warner Brothers, so please feel free to steal my ideas boys, I don’t mind. Just whatever you do, don’t undo all the good will the franchise has earned under Christopher Nolan. And don’t think of calling in anyone with the last name Schumacher.