Category: Batman

Empire of the Knight.

The word has come down from director Chris Nolan: Christian Bale will be Batman. Of the possible contenders, I’d say that’s definitely the right choice. Now for everyone else…I’ve been hearing Aaron Eckhart as Commissioner Gordon for years, and still think that’s spot-on Year One casting. As for the villain(s)…it sounds like they’re leaning toward Ras Al Ghul and the Scarecrow. (Cillian Murphy, Raz?) Those are two of the creepier denizens of Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery, and if done right this film could be great fanboy fun, a la X2. I think they could just have easily used a young, whip-thin, and terminally insane Joker, particularly if they are trying to reboot the Batman mythos as intended, but oh well. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see what the director of Memento does with Arkham Asylum.

Four-Color Casting Call.

Eager to catch up with Marvel in the summer blockbuster dept., Warner Brothers and DC plan to screentest a bevy of young stars for Christopher (Memento) Nolan’s new Batman film. (Of these choices, I’d go with Christian Bale.) Also is comic casting news, it turns out cut-rate chanteuse/Newlywed Jessica Simpson will be playing the lead in Mort the Dead Teenager. Normally, this’d be a non-story, but she had been rumored to play Sue Storm (Invisible Girl) in the upcoming Fantastic Four flick, which — if true — would have instantly erased any interest I might have in the project. Now, Naomi Watts, on the other hand…

A Dark and Stormy Knight.

The much-hyped Batman fan film that was making the rounds at Comicon is now available for download (Might be faster off Kazaa, which is how I obtained it.) I could’ve done without the lame fanboy pr0n ending, to be honest. Batman, Joker, a dark alley, rain…why mess up a good thing with cross-genre cameos?

Oompa Loompa Doompadee do.

Tim Burton is tapped for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake. I’m not sure if a remake is really necessary, but, if you’re going to do one, I suppose Burton is the man to helm it. And in other directing news, Darren “Requiem for a Dream” Aronofsky wil be helming Lone Wolf and Cub. Does this mean Batman: Year One is dead?

If I ruled the world.

Former Authority scribe Mark Millar offers his vision for revamping Detective Comics. (Via Neilalien.) What with Marvel finally feeling the movie mojo (Daredevil notwithstanding), it’s kinda sad to see DC languish these days. I remember the days when DC/Vertigo were pretty much firing on every cylinder while the X-Men were dinking around the Australian outback and Marvel was trying to garner new readers by having the Secret Wars Beyonder traipsing around dressed like Phillip Michael Thomas. How the mighty have fallen.

Superman lives?

With Superman v. Batman falling by the wayside, WB looks to move a Superman feature instead. The good news is they’re trying to replace McG with David Fincher, Michael Mann, or Steven Soderbergh. The bad news is the screenwriter (J.J. Abrams, of Alias) wants McG.