DETO Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 Release Date: Summer, 2005 (wide) MPAA Rating Note: (6/2/03) Nothing's official until the MPAA sees the final cut, but it is extremely likely that Warner Bros. will be aiming for a PG-13. Distributor: Warner Bros. Production Company: DiBonaventura Pictures (Constantine) Cast: Guy Pearce (in talks) (Bruce Wayne); other cast not announced yet. Cast Notes: (6/1/03) There have been a lot of names appearing at the fan/rumor sites this spring, but I haven't heard or seen (in a publication or source that I can confirm or rely upon) a single name coming out of the mouth of someone who would actually be in the position to know about the casting process. So, for now, I'm not going to single out any of the rumored names, which you can read about if you go to one of the rumor control sites linked below. I will, however, submit my own personal choice to play the new Bruce Wayne for public scrutiny... Colin Farrell. (6/18/03) Well, when I first heard buzzing months ago about Guy Pearce, I figured it was just speculating fans making the most obvious connection, choosing the star of Nolan's Memento. Pearce has revealed, however on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (quoted online by Batman Hype) that Nolan indeed wants him to play Bruce Wayne, and that Pearce hasn't turned the offer down yet. Director: Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia, Following) Screenwriter: David S. Goyer (Blade, Blade II, Death Warrant, The Crow: City of Angels; he's also got Blade 3 and Freddy vs Jason coming) Screenwriter Note: (6/2/03) Recently, before David S. Goyer was announced as the screenwriter of this project, a script appeared online called 'Batman: The Frightening' which may have been a spec script that Warner Bros. optioned (or not), with there being conflicting reports about who might have written it. This script, which is available to read over at Batman-on-Film.com, focuses on the Scarecrow as the main villain, with a small role for the Joker. It will not be used for this movie, but it is the origin of rumors that Nolan and Goyer may be using the Scarecrow as the villain. Something that is worth remembering is that rumors that the Scarecrow would be the next Batman villain go all the way back to 1997, when there was talk of the "next George Clooney movie" after Batman and Robin (such talk stopped after that movie flopped critically, becoming the target of fan derision). Based Upon: (6/2/03) This movie is, of course, based upon the character of Batman, which has been published in a variety of comic books by DC Comics since 1939 ("Detective Comics" #27). Premise: (6/2/03) Warner Bros. is being very tight-lipped about what exactly this take on the 'Batman' legacy is like. There are many rumors online, but they mostly conflict with each other. What is known for sure is that this movie will mark a new direction for the franchise, which might mean it is an origin story, but might not. There are rumors that the villain may be the Scarecrow, but they may not be reliable. So, all we really know is that this film will follow one of the adventures of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, whose obsession with bringing justice to the evil-doers of Gotham City compels him to fight crime as Batman, master detective. Filming: There is no word about what the official production start date might be, but it's possible that it could be as early as sometime in the fall of 2003 or the spring of 2004. Genre: Action, Crime, Eye Candy, Sequel, Superhero Unofficial Character Fan Site: Scarecrow: Master of Fear (appears to focus mostly on the animated version with only slight referencing of the comic book version, but it's a good introduction to the character, nonetheless) Unofficial Director Fan Site: ChristopherNolan.net Unofficial Rumor Controls: Batman-on-Film.com, Batman Hype!, Comics2Film, CountingDown.com, IGN FilmForce Official Character Site: Batman.com Message Board: Share your thoughts on our "Batman 5" Message Board Input about Greg's Previews of upcoming Movies, or any movie covered here, is encouraged. Just e-mail Greg Dean Schmitz using our feedback form. Please note that all release dates are subject to change. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Browse other Previews By Movie Title By Date By Genre By Director By Screenwriter By Actor By Distributor By Video Release Date By Most Visited By What's New -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent Updates to This Page: 6/18/03 - Greg's Preview Thoughts, Cast, Cast Notes 6/15/03 - Unofficial Character Fan Site 6/02/03 - Greg's Preview Thoughts, Screenwriter Note, Based Upon, ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greg's Preview Thoughts: Sort: By Most Recent | Chronologically 6/18/03 - The one actor who is most easily conjured when someone thinks of director Christopher Nolan, I suspect, is his Memento costar, Guy Pearce. I'd heard rumors for months (basically since Nolan was announced) about Guy Pearce playing his version of the Dark Knight, but without any sort of official confirmation, I sort of wrote them off as wishful fanboy speculation (the same sort of speculation that has cast Bruce Campbell in nearly every cool role of the last 10 years). Guy Pearce, however, has now revealed that he has indeed been talking to Nolan about the job, and they're still talking. So, what do I make of this news? Well, after checking Nolan's height (for some reason, I thought he was shorter than 5'11"), and looking at lots of photos of Guy (luckily, Batman doesn't smile much), I've decided that he passes the most rudimentary test... the look. Unfortunately, some of our best actors (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, for example) just wouldn't pass that test. Now, I can consider Pearce as an actor, and ostensibly, as an "action star," asking whether he has the credentials to be the new Batman. On the acting side, there is no question... he's got the stuff, especially for a story that might get dark, psychological and scary, with the Scarecrow as the villain. Physically, to be fair, this is not really that hard of a pass to test, since Batman wears a full body suit that can be augmented a bit to make an actor look great (please be sure to understand that I do *not* mean fake pecs, nipples, abs and codpieces like Joel Schumacher's version). Guy Pearce is thin and lithe (nearly scrawny), but I don't really have a problem with a thinner Batman. If this was a 'Dark Knight' movie, I would expect a big brawny street fighter guy, like an older Michael Madsen. As a movie about the younger Batman, aka "The Detective" (if you know who calls him that, you are a true comic geek), however, I think this movie can afford to have an actor whose skills lie more in his intensity as an actor than his ability to bench press 250 pounds. 6/02/03 - Batman is an iconic example of the self-made, super-disciplined hero figure, using his intelligence and sleuthing abilities as ably as his fists. Batman is the Sherlock Holmes of the comic book world, and yet that has never really been portrayed in any of the movies. That is where Christopher Nolan comes in, with a popular 3-movie filmography of dark, psychological crime stories. I don't know what exactly he has in mind for the character, but the most important thing is that in the quotes I've read, I gather that he respects Batman (like Darren Aronofsky before him), and that to me, is most important. He's working with the screenwriter, David S. Goyer, whose work on Blade is credited with being the opening salvo of Marvel's revival in the superhero movie business. I've read a few of Goyer's scripts, and what strikes me about them is that he often puts down on the page better material than what ends up in the movie (Blade II being a perfect example of this; the draft I read is *great*). That is not uncommon, but it can often impact how fans interpret the talent of a writer. Hopefully, the team of Goyer and Nolan will be able to withstand the piles of notes (requesting changes) a studio like WB can often give, and deliver a clever, intriguing tale of mystery and crime-solving, with (if the Scarecrow is indeed the villain) perhaps some psychological "identity issues" (which would fit perfectly into Nolan's oeuvre). 6/01/03 - Warner Bros., through its direct access to the thousands of characters published by DC Comics, has one of the greatest stables of possible superheroes in existence, matched only by Marvel, which it could be argued DC actually bests. The difference, in the years since the bombing of a few DC Comics inspired movies in the mid-1990s is that Warner Bros. has been hesitant about the development of superhero movies, while Marvel has been gung-ho, developing just as many B-list and C-list titles as they do their big A-list stuff (like X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, etc.). Instead of greenlighting the many viable movies they could be getting out of lower profile characters like the Flash, Green Lantern, etc., Warner Bros. has had a bit of tunnel vision about concentrating the most on their two big guns: Batman and Superman. To that end, they have developed no fewer than four 'Batman' projects, all in competition with each other, in the last three years: Batman Beyond, Batman: Year One, Batman vs Superman, and this project. Those first two are pretty much dead/shelved at this point, with this Christopher Nolan expected to be greenlit first, and the "team-up" movie a possibility for sometime many years down the road. The good news is that unlike many of the things we've heard about the Superman project(s), there has been little about this or the other Batman movies that fans have been able to complain about. It's frustrating that we keep hearing about these great ideas of keeping the character true to the comics (rather than like a *cartoon* like the last two movies), but at least we're hearing good things. It could be worse, and it appears that Warner Bros. at least partially learned their lesson after the disaster that was Batman & Robin, which single-handedly killed a four-film franchise that had made over a BILLION dollars worldwide (including it). My take on it has always been that Tim Burton understood the character, but that after him, the people involved seemed to know Batman not from the comics, but from the campy 1960s TV show starring Adam West, and they didn't really "respect" the character. If you've read dozens or hundreds of comics in the last 20 years that feature Batman, he is a character you grow to respect, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Durden Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 i cant think about the things that are going to happen on monday, let summer 2005 when another godawful batman is going to be dropped into our laps. complete trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weapon X Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 It's like the Leafs in the sports pages. Fuck a rumour, and fuck Guy Pearce as Brucey Waner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETO Posted June 22, 2003 Author Share Posted June 22, 2003 Who in the FUCK is The Scarecrow???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father John Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 Originally posted by DETO Who in the FUCK is The Scarecrow???? you mother fucker, how could you sleep on the scarecrow..he made batman hallucinate and freak out like a pussy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Durden Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 he was in the cartoon on a few occasions if i recall correctly. i didnt even read the majority of the stuff up there....but im gathering by your mentioning the scarecrow that he'll be the villian. god.....why.....just let movies die and concentrate on making something good...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weapon X Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 hoooooooray for hollywood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETO Posted June 22, 2003 Author Share Posted June 22, 2003 06/20/03 Well, according to E! Online, the only guy being considered for the Dark Knight is Ashton Kutcher, whose signing could be announced soon. (Dark Horizons) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETO Posted June 22, 2003 Author Share Posted June 22, 2003 http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Trailer/1828/Ashopen.bmp'> I AM BATMAN!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest THEMEDIC Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 Originally posted by Weapon X hoooooooray for hollywood! haha....oh man.............hahahaaahahaha:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the JEL kid Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 man batman 5 whoa........ batman is a kool hero but they startin to play that shit out now 5? and the year 2005>lol be serious that shit is gonna lose attraction look marvel comic is doing they thing by bringin out Spiderman 1 and 2, Hulk 1 and 2 , The Punisher , Dare Devil , and more so batman won't be a summer hit . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caL Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 scare crow looked fucking crazy... thats what happens when u take too many pills :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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