Hello all,

While the fact that we haven't seen the conclusion of Nolan's trilogy yet might make this seem premature speculation to some, I would like to start up a discussion about the eventual reboot of the Batman franchise focusing on a particular idea: a Batman sexology or six-part series conceived of and produced as a comprehensive saga with a consistent tone and quality. To give an example of what I'm talking about imagine a Batman origin story akin to Batman Begins or Batman: Year One followed by five sequels each building deliberately and consciously upon what was established in that first film so that with the final installment—a sort of The Dark Knight Returns perhaps—we are left feeling that we've literally entered into and experienced a world that we saw born, grow and die.

What I would especially like to see in such a series would be a careful application of the recurring villains trope characteristic of the Batman universe: with six films we could definitely see if not all then most of the essential members of Batman's rouges gallery, but simultaneously we would have the opportunity to see certain villains in more than one light. Now because of the nature of the medium it would doubtless cloy to have Batman's enemies captured and escaping ad perpetuum, and arguably it might be more cinematically evocative and lending to character development within the context of a six-part series for some villains to inadevertedly die, but what I am imagining here specifically is Batman's relationship to Harvey Dent and the Joker. I liked Nolan's technique of reserving the essential enemy for the second film in his trilogy, and in a sextology we could imagine something similar for both of these characters: Dent could be developed as an ally of Batman over the course of one film before serving as villain in another, while the Joker could pose as the villain in the second or third installment, say, be institutionalized in Arkham, and then make a dramatic, satisfying and resolving return as the key enemy in the last film, perhaps in connection with some other plot that had been quietly maturing over the last few installments or indeed the entire series.

What I am proposing, in short, is a multi-layered, interdependent and very conscientious Batman saga effectively mapped out from start to finish in detail with dedicated attention given to the characters, the plot, the score, cinematography, opening credits—all elements. This would be a magnum opus for the Batman mythos, and for the filmmakers and producers to boot, and I for one would relish the chance to see it successfully executed.

Critique, thoughts of your own?

What you describe is very appealing of course, but the practicality of a flawless 6 film saga is highly improbable, thus an obvious risky undertaking for any party. As you may know, even if production were full time and year round, release dates would be a year apart minimum. More likely there would be 3-5 years between releases, but for the sake of argument, we'll imagine 1 year. 6 movies over 6 years of real time. 6 years is a long time for countless variables to be disturbed. World events, economies, sensitivities, studio and marketing execs, fluctuating public interest, otherwise "perfect" casting not willing to pre-commit to 6 movies or wanting out of their contracts halfway down.

Besides which, I feel there's something lost when a director sees things in terms beyond one film at a time. Understand, if WB were to somehow work it out and set a 6 film ambition in motion, I'd crap myself with joy. But usually (and I mean USUALLY) it's a mistake to look past the film you're making. Sure considerations can be made for the story to be continued like choosing to not kill off or waste otherwise significant characters, etc. But, each film is its best (at least in the case of CBM's) when it's approached as a story and film that doesn't need any others to make it whole. That's the difference between comics and CBM's. And, it's a good difference. Comics can have never ending stories and limitless cliffhangers and bending formats. Movies are an effort all its own. And when people, even the hardest fans, watch a Batman movie, they dont want codependency. That's one of the fundamental problems I have with the Harry Potter series. Good stuff and not bad. But individually they suffer.

Nolan has proven that you can make multiple movies about a superhero, a comic book character, and make each one a monument that works well with its peers yet requires none. If Batman were to reach 6 films following THIS format, we fans could have the closest thing to what you described while still being realistic.

Consider that Bale couldn't be Batman for 10 years. Even if Nolan wanted more, we'd either have to age Batman to TDKReturns territory at some point or have a 45yo Batman in his 4th or so year of fighting crime. However, if Bale does 3, then some other perfect Bruce Wayne does 3 masterpieces, then at some point the return of Bale in a TDKReturns based film would be realistic, practical, doable, and epic.

Movies are tricky things. They can't really be planned out to perfection like comics or any book really, even a TV show would fare better. What we can do is make sure each film is so brilliant we barely need another. Then, hopefully we do get another and treat it similarly. This way, we are less likely to be ripped off in theaters with an hour and a half long trailer for its own sequel.