Christian Bale is the next Batman

I'm not sure if this is the same "Batman Year One" that's been in the works, based on the acclaimed storyline written by Frank Miller, but Christopher Nolan of "Memento" is pegged to direct and now Bale's cast as Batman. Could be great!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20030912/en_afp/us_film_batman_030912202804&e=3

 

It's unclear from the trade reports this morning if this indeed the "Year One" project. Variety does state that "this new installment in the franchise will follow the early career of the Dark Knight," but the script is by Dvid Goyer and Chris Nolan, which doesn't quite jibe with the earlier Year One project. I suspect, though, that this is what Year One has evolved into.

Regardless, I love the fact that Nolan will be directing this. I'm less in love with Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, but it could have been worse. I have high hopes for this one...

 

Considering Freddie Prinze, Jr., and possibly Ben Affleck as well as several other teeny-boppers were in the running, I'm relieved they picked someone like Bale. I'm not that crazy about him, but thank god it's not Prinze or Affleck.

 

He's gotta be better than Clooney.


Jeff

 

A BLENDER would be better than Clooney!

Evan

 

I never saw Batman & Robin. Was it really Clooney, or was it really Schumacher's script and direction? You can tell from the trailers how bloated and over-the-top the movie was going to be. It was campier than the 60's TV show, but not in a good way.

 

It was both. Wrong actor, bad script, worse direction. If you've never seen it, move on and consider yourself lucky.

Jeff

 

I think Clooney could have been okay with a decent script and director. He certainly looks more like Bruce Wayne (as drawn by Dick Sprang or Jerry Robinson) than anyone of the other Batmen. But what do I know... I hate all the Batman films, because not one of them features a Batman who behaves even remotely like the character I grew up reading. In their own way, the pretentious Burton films are just as bad as the dopey Shumachers. Christopher Nolan sounds like a fine choice though... "Memento" was great.

 

I like the Burton films, but I admit some mixed feelings. About Batman/Bruce Wayne, you pretty much nailed it: they don't make him that interesting. When the first Batman came out, I was a little disappointed how hollow they made him. Outside of everything we already know about him (his origin, etc.), they spent very little time developing his character, and far more time on the Joker. From there, it went downhill. The second's got its charms. I hated it at first, I thought the script was too campy, but as a Tim Burton movie, it fits with the rest of his work, and the art direction was still cool, but again, Batman was just there, that's it. When Val Kilmer took over, it wasn't a big change. They just needed a body to fill the suit, so they just picked any random marquee name.

 

I have high hopes for Bale, if they can give him a good script.

It will be interesting to see him with the Batman cowl on. I hadn't really though about it until now, but anyone notice how all of the Batmen so far have had slightly-outside-the-norm mouths/lips? Which are then really emphasized by the cowl.

John K.

 

Bale's a pro, very good actor. I think that's a good batman call. Check out American Psycho if you haven't already.

 

I'll give him a shot.

 

Since I never read the comic books and grew up watching Adam West and Burt Ward on TV (Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel...) I think I'll skip the next Batman movie just as I skipped all the others. I did hear that there were a few hot women in the films, though!

 

The thing that struck me after seeing the first film is that a director who cannot make Batman at least as interesting as his antagonists does not really understand Batman. The Burton Batman was just an absentminded cipher. All four films kind of suffered from the assumption Batman is boring, so his foes have to be ridiculously over-the-top to compensate for it.