Christopher Nolan Talks 'Superman' and 'Batman 3'
Filed under: Action, Warner Brothers, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Time probably stopped for Superman and DC fans when news broke that Christopher Nolan was going to oversee Warner Bros' Superman reboot, and that David S. Goyer would be penning a new Man of Steel story. (Possibly even titled Man of Steel.) As Nolan is one of those quiet chaps, there's been little word on what he and Goyer plan to do, but he's broken his silence and given an interview with Hero Complex. Nolan remains tight-lipped on Goyer's idea, but revealed that it came about as they hit an impasse on Batman 3. "He basically told me, 'I have this thought about how you would approach Superman.' I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I've never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma [Thomas] and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way." He wasn't willing to discuss villains (though he said Mr. Freeze won't be in it) or what time period it'll be set in, though he denied all the Man of Steel rumors currently circulating. There's a Superman reboot, and Goyer is writing the script. That's all he'll say, the tease.
Ok, not quite. Nolan quickly quashed any idea that a new Superman movie will lead to a Justice League spinoff. Superman will exist in his own world of Metropolis, and have no conception of a world where other superheroes exists. "A lot of people have approached Superman in a lot of different ways. I only know the way that has worked for us that's what I know how to do .... Each [hero] serves to the internal logic of the story. They have nothing to do with each other."
As for Batman 3, it is picking up steam. Jonathan Nolan is hard at work on the script, and while Nolan won't say whether or not he'll direct, he still seems to have a lot of enthusiasm for Gotham City and is eager to bring his Batman saga to a close. That's something the rumor mill didn't reveal at all, and should calm the fanboy fears that he will abandon his creation. "I'm very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we've done with the characters," Nolan said. "My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these thing don't go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we're telling. And it hearkens back to that priority of trying to find the reality in these fantastic stories. That's what we do."
Now let the rumor mill and fantasy casting begin. The silence was just the gathering of the geek storm, believe me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
3-10-2010 @ 10:15AM
Nolanized said...
I'm calling it right now...The Dark Knight Returns adaptation...its a perfect place to end off and its different than any other comic book film by jumping into the future....using the Joker wont be a problem and they set it up perfectly in the Dark Knight...The Joker says he feels like they will be battling for a long time...Batman is on the run...they can make it make sense that hes been mostly hidden away for decades and a urban myth and the Joker has been locked away decaying for all those years bc he has no one to play with anymore...the Riddler comes into play as a ploy by the Joker to get Batman out of hiding and there is a Silence of the Lambs element there and they use the Joker getting interview on a talk show and killing everyone scene to have him escape....the movie would be epic and conclude with the Joker dying and Batman finally getting the credit he deserves....I think it would be a mistake to have another Dark Knight type movie bc they want finality not another chapter in the Batman saga....its perfect, the title is perfect and everyone wants a adaptation of that book...Nolan can do it justice and it fits in his world..
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3-10-2010 @ 10:50AM
Reuben said...
If Nolan adapted The Dark Knight Returns I think I would lose my head in the very best way.
3-10-2010 @ 7:15PM
Nick said...
The problem is that there's no way to approach that story line (even though it would be PERFECT) because replacing Heath Ledger would be pointless, no one can do it like he did it.
3-11-2010 @ 6:56AM
Nolanized said...
Heath Ledger was the Joker in their present day...10 years into the future he can be a completley different person...you can bring DDLewis in or someone older looking to be a reformed Joker for some of the film and have him lose it again for the second half....I loved Heath's interpetation but a 1 man's drug problems cannot hijack a character that lives forever...its just not fair to the trillions of people that are alive...
4-04-2010 @ 7:50AM
akred said...
too many are thinking of the villan and positive ending....if anything he'll probably introduce dick grayson as a younging and kill off batman without letting the public know batman is dead.....to leave the what if factor alive...that's how a cash cow works...and spin offs...who wouldn't like to see a hardcore nightwing who doesn't live by batmans one rule!?
3-10-2010 @ 10:47AM
Scott K. said...
Great news on both fronts. I'm looking forward to anything Nolan has coming. I'm curious to learn more about what they have in mind for Superman (Superman Returns *sounded* interesting and promising and then I saw it...) that Nolan has "never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting." I hope it's not too out there because I think Marvel has shown that good (and sometimes great) movies can be created without reinventing the wheel. Superman has been around a long time, in many different forms, and trying too hard to be unique could push them down the wrong path.
As for Dark Knight Returns being the source of the final movie, I'd be surprised if that's the case. One issue would still be finding an actor to replace Heath Ledger as the Joker. The second is I don't see Nolan & Company adapting anything for their movie. Sure, they may take ideas from different places, but the end result is their movie.
Still, until Nolan proves me wrong, I'm going to trust him and remain very excited about both. Good times for superhero fans!
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3-10-2010 @ 1:09PM
ronmoses said...
"One issue would still be finding an actor to replace Heath Ledger as the Joker."
While I don't care for the DKR idea, I do have a candidate for Joker. I'm thinking Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Now think about this... if you put Joker in Arkham, you can keep his face partially in the shadows for the very short time you'd need to involve him directly in the story (the Hannibal Lecter comparison is spot-on). Gordon-Levitt has shown he can do almost anything, and looks pretty close to Ledger to begin with. If he can muster up something close to the voice, and the part is kept small, I think viewers would accept it.
3-10-2010 @ 11:31AM
doa766 said...
from what Nolan said now I'm thinking of Bane breaking Bruce´s back
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3-10-2010 @ 6:03PM
meltzer.justin said...
I entirely agree. That is the character I was hoping they would use for the final film.
Few people realize that Bane is just as super intelligent as he is super strong. I say the best actor to play him would have to be Javier Bardem. Noland has a thing for good actors, and Bardem did win the Oscar for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. Plus that character has many similarities to Bane.
I say make Bane play mind games with Batman and truly test his limits, both physically and more importantly psychologically. That would be a fitting conclusion to a fantastic series.
4-15-2010 @ 12:09PM
rosaphoenix said...
God I loved that in the comic book, that would be the greatest thing ever to see that in real life. but the thing that make that story arc was so powerful was that batman had been around for decades!
It'd be harder to portray the shock of the batman being 'broken' after just two films..
3-10-2010 @ 12:42PM
matt said...
At least we know they are working on it! I was hoping they could make an 11' release but that doesn't look probable.
It will be nice to have an ending to a franchise... I always hate the inevitable "will there be another movie" that is sure to follow the day before a sequel is released. This way in 10 or so years someone else can pick it up and do something different with it. But I am sure nolan will still leave us wanting more!
I think he should end it with batman meeting dick grayson. That would leave people wanting more!
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3-10-2010 @ 1:33PM
Nolanized said...
I think that will leave people wanting to shoot themselves.
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3-10-2010 @ 2:37PM
meeno said...
The Dark Knight Returns, definitely, if i hear or see one mention of dick grayson in the movie, I will probably walk out.....probably not, but you get the idea
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3-10-2010 @ 3:13PM
Steven said...
Regarding Batman 3: I'm excited, I trust Nolan, I love BB and TDK, but I'm truly hoping that his "conclusion" to the trilogy doesn't include Batman hanging up his cape and having permanently saved Gotham. It sounds nice in theory, but it would be too far removed from the Batman that fans have followed their whole lives, which is a Bruce Wayne who never gets to stop fighting crime, and essentially never "fixes" Gotham, because like the Joker said in TDK: "...we're destined to do this forever."
Sad, but accurate, and I'd prefer it end that way.
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3-10-2010 @ 5:12PM
Billy Soistmann said...
I'm glad Nolan is working this closely on Superman. Originally it sounded like he wasn't going to be doing much, but I guess he's actually focusing on coming up with the story.
As for Batman, I can't wait. It really does need an ending. Leaving films open-ended just for a sequel is just terrible. In a few years, we should be able to have the Nolan Trilogy as one unit, with Begins, The Dark Knight, and a definitive ending. The Dark Knight Returns is a good idea, but a straight adaptation is very unlikely. It sounds like that is the direction they are going, though, so that's good. Anyway, I can't wait!
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3-10-2010 @ 5:31PM
RhysA said...
I think it's time to let Tom Welling step up to the plate. He's done a great job with Clark Kent, why not at the end of season 10 put on the red n blues, and go right into "The Man of Steel" I think he has a lot more screen presence than Brandon Routh.
My main concern with "The Dark Knight" was I didn't get a sense of this Batman's "dark" side. This was him hung up over a girl, and not the dark knight in the animated series & Justice League. The Batman that says "I have a job to do, protecting Gotham City at all costs" The Batman that makes criminals piss their pants when they see even his shadow. And normal people too scared to even think about going out dressed like him, trying to help, or do what he does, as only he can. That's the Batman I want to see!
And I don't care what anybody thinks, Michael Keaton did the best Batman, George Clooney did the best Bruce Wayne, and Kevin Conroy is the voice of the animated Batman
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4-05-2010 @ 8:30PM
suedehead84 said...
I find it funny when people harp about Bruce Wayne being "hung up" about Rachael's death...the Batman post 70's comics was dark and emotional...I was moved that Bruce was so upset and hell why wouldnt he? He caused the death of his childhood sweetheart and as that goes he is still haunted by the death of his parents...Bruce is consumed with rage and depression thats why when you think about it Batman is the real ego of Bruce Wayne and Bruce Wayne is the alterego of Batman...Bruce Wayne is meant to be a charector where as the Batman is the REAL personal embodiement of Wayne's anger and violence something that has consumed him so deeply that Bruce doesnt exsist anymore... that what makes Batman far more interesting than milqetoast Superman who has zero charisma and is completly boring as a charector study...
4-07-2010 @ 12:42AM
Rhys A said...
No no no , I was talking about before her death. Come on, I'm not that cold-hearted
3-10-2010 @ 6:30PM
Mark said...
Michael Emerson as the Riddler!
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3-11-2010 @ 12:19AM
Joe said...
I say Talia al Ghul shows up. It was even hinted in the DVD version of Batman Begins. This way the film series comes full circle. It started with Ra al Ghul and will end with his Daughter. You would not even need to bring back Ra just have Talia. Just have her wanting to kill Batman for the first half then later on it shows that Talia and Bruce had a kid. Who is Damian Wayne. This way you end the series with Bruce becoming a father.
You would have to play around with the Batman story because you can't show all the other Robin's that come before Damian. Seeing as there would be no time. But I think having Talia in Batman 3 would be great.
I also would love to see Hush or Black Mask team up with Talia. But I think the best one would be Bane. Seeing as she worked with him in the Comics and Ra wanted Talia to Marry Bane. Having those two in Batman 3 would make for an interesting movie.
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