Batman Begins starts production in Iceland, with the final casting announcement of Gary Oldman as Sgt. (future Commissioner) Gordon. I really liked Aaron Eckhart for this role, but Oldman should be grand, provided he doesn’t go all Professional-crazy.
Category: Batman
The Ras Samurai.
Ok, so it looks like Liam Neeson isn’t Ras Al Ghul in the new Batman film: Instead, it’s Ken Watanabe of The Last Samurai (Solid casting.) Apparently, Neeson is Bruce Wayne’s mentor, Henri Ducard. Nope, never heard of him either.
Crazy like a Fox.
The forthcoming Nolan Batman adds Morgan Freeman to the mix as “Lucius Fox, a respected businessman and the CEO of billionaire Bruce Wayne’s mega-conglom, based in Gotham City.” (If this is some character from the comics, I’ve never heard of him.) Also, Neeson is confirmed as Ras Al Ghul, meaning the only high-profile character left is Commissioner Gordon (which Chris Cooper, sadly, already turned down.)
Qui-Gon to Ras Al?
In more good news on the Batman front, Liam Neeson is set to play a villain, most likely Ras Al Ghul to Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow. Well, so much for Viggo, but I still like this casting. I just hope Christian Bale can get back into Bruce Wayne-shape after getting creepily thin for The Machinist. Update: Has Nolan found Arkham Asylum?
Tentacled.
It’s a bad day for Spidey in this collection of new images from EW’s 2004 preview, which includes shots from The Aviator, Michael Mann’s Collateral, and a ridiculous-looking Halle Berry as Catwoman, the film currently competing with The Punisher to finish what The Hulk started and end the recent comic-book-movie streak in flames.
Gotham’s Finest.
While unconfirmed, an interesting scoop for the Nolan Batman (apparently titled Batman: Intimidation) has recently emerged online: Apparently, neither Viggo nor Cillian Murphy are playing the villains – they have yet to be cast. In fact, Viggo is somebody named Judson Caspian (apparently, Katie Holmes’s father…I dunno, this sounds like Ras Al Ghul/Talia to me), while Murphy is playing a young Harvey Dent (a.k.a. Two-Face, previously portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in the first Batman and hammed into the ground by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever.) More intriguing still, the scooper says Chris Cooper is on for Commissioner Gordon. (Michael Caine is already squared away as Alfred.) Perhaps it’s all fanboy wishful thinking…but that sounds like great casting.
If he only had a brain.
28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy joins the Nolan Batman. If the rumors about Viggo as Ras Al Ghul hold up, then Murphy has to be the Scarecrow, and, y’know, as I noted awhile back, that’s pretty darn good casting.
From Dawson’s Creek to Wayne Manor.
Christopher Nolan and David Goyer think about adding Katie Holmes to the new Batman. (Early word was she might play Talia, daughter of Ras al Ghul, but it sounds like she’s just the love interest.) I’m not sure if she and Bale work together, but hopefully the romance will remain a relatively minor subplot anyway. Update: Viggo as Ras Al Ghul?
What’s it all about, Alfred?
Michael Caine joins the Christopher Nolan Batman as Alfred. That’s an interesting choice, and what with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Nolan’s two-for-two. But who will play the villains? Dark Horizons says Daniel Day-Lewis as Ras Al-Ghul, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Matrix Kev and Bat Berk.
Hope everyone had a happy Halloween. I didn’t go out this year, but did manage to throw together this Matrix-y look for the day. Pretty lame, I know, but most people got what I was going for after it turned dark and I was still wearing the shades. I also tried once again to get Berk to wear the Batman costume I got him a year ago, but he’s still not having it…I suppose that speaks well of his character.
