Last summer, Christopher Nolan’s long awaited sequel to Batman Begins was released, and it went on to make Mr. Nolan a very very very very very rich man. Wait, you didn’t know that? Oh yeah, The Dark Knight was huge! Anyway, it’s a forgone conclusion that we will see Nolan revisit Gotham City someday. The exact date is completely unknown, although Nolan’s most recent contract to make a film for the studio that doesn’t feature a man in black spandex and body armor, includes a provision stipulating that Nolan will indeed give serious thought to, and even begin preliminary work for, the sequel to TDK. Another shocker, right?!? We all knew the second that we left the theaters that there would be a sequel. Not just because of the way the film ended, but also because of the overall quality of the film. Let’s face it, movies that good tend to get sequels. The massive amounts of cash that the film went on to make certainly didn’t hurt it’s chances.
Even before the film finished it’s first theatrical run, the rumor mill began churning as to who would be featured in the inevitable sequel. We sure heard a lot of crazy stories: Angelina Jolie to play Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Johnny Depp to play Edward Nigma/The Riddler, Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin, a possible return of the Joker and an appearance of Harleen Quinzel, and a whole host of rumors that were so bad that I won’t even give them any credence by repeating them here. It seems like everyone else with a blog and free time has put their two cents in on how they think the return of the Bat will go. I figured, “Hey! I have free time! I write for the coolest little movie blogging site on the web, so why not?” Here’s my two cents. This, is my take on the future of the Batman Franchise.
First off, I’d like to say that I hope that if they do make it, it’s only because they have a good story to tell. If they do, then great. I’ve read a lot of comics in my day, admittedly less Batman issues than I have for other characters, but I’ve hit the key issues, I’ve read the best Batman stories. So I’ve definitely got some ideas. My idea does not derive directly from any one storyline, but it takes elements from some and creates a whole new story. Now, I’m not going to play movie writer here, they don’t need a new writer. What I’m providing is the basis of the story, just for fun. I’ve included two very cool fan created movie posters. The people who did these are clearly pretty talented. Everyone please feel free to share any and all ideas you may have related to this idea, or any idea you may have. This is just for fun, so please enjoy!
I choose to introduce Edward Nigma to the franchise. He will play “the villain,” but it’s important to remember that the major villain of the story is and will be in any TDK sequel, Batman himself. At the end of TDK, you will remember that Batman set himself up as the villain to preserve the image of Harvey Dent as Gotham’s savior. While that one act established himself as Gotham’s truest hero, it also establishes himself as the villain to the whole city. So the introduction of Nigma is initially as a potential new hero for Gotham. Here’s what I’m thinking: Gordon’s superiors and or the public, call for Batman to be brought to justice. Edward Nigma (The Riddler) is the brilliant yet odd detective hired to track down the Bat so they could bring him to justice. Trying to solve this riddle proves to be too difficult for Nigma, and he starts to go insane.
He sets up test/riddles for the bat to solve in order to stop something bad from happening (Public building exploding, innocent people dying) All the while he observes the bat and tries to deduce who he is. The city does not know Nigma is behind all of this. Batman knows all along, but there is nothing he can do at the moment, except try to catch him in the act. All the while, a killer is on the loose in Gotham City, and Batman struggles to try to catch this new threat, while attempting to expose Nigma and win back the support of the people. Wherever the Bat tries to go in his search for justice, the people fight him tooth and nail. All those “slightly deranged” citizens dressing in Bat costumes and trying to fight crime in TDK are now desperately trying to take down Batman.
The killer on the loose is in Gotham, and unbeknown-st to Batman, it is a close confidant to the family. The villain? Hush. For those of you who know nothing about Hush, you can check out the character bio/back story here. This version of Hush would have to modify the back story to fit him in to this story, so perhaps Alfred gets cancer? I know this may seem like heresy, but I really think this is a great way to add in the character and give a new story, heightening the drama. That is completely up in the air. But Batman, using his keen detective skills that SHOULD be on display throughout this film regardless of the villain, would deduce the identity of Hush, and bring him to justice shortly before the Nigma storyline comes to it’s climax. I love the idea of having two villains, but not having two big time villains, that would just con-volute the story. This way, we’ll have two villains without dragging down the story. One short villain story, affecting the larger story without the two plots directly crossing. Hush and Riddler may reference one another, but the two will NOT share screen time.
In the end, Nigma falls into the depths of complete and total insanity, and exposes himself as the Riddler, in a last ditch plot to catch/kill the bat so he could ultimately find out who he is. Nigma puts innocent lives in the line of fire. Batman comes in, cue climatic battle, Batman saves the day and redeems himself in the eyes of Gotham. The whole city learns of Nigma’s deception, and realizes that Batman has always been a hero to the city, however flawed he may be. Bat’s can earn his redemption and the trilogy can wrap up nicely, thus ending Nolan’s involvement in the franchise and opening the door for a new take on Batman, for inclusion in The Justice League, which will happen people! Trust me!
So, what do you think? I really had a blast sitting down to work on this. It took a while, but I learned that this is something that I would’ve loved to make a career of. Oh well. Maybe some day…