Batman in the New DC Cinematic Universe

DC Cinematic Universe: Batman

A Blog by Mitchell A. Quondam

With the release of Man of Steel, and the announcement that its sequel will feature The Dark Knight, I recently became very excited about the idea of a “DC Cinematic Universe” similar to what Marvel has done at their studio in conjunction with Disney. Unlike Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers retains the rights to all DC characters, from the classic heroes such as Batman and Superman, to lesser known heroes like Cyborg and the Spectre, to separate universes like The Watchmen. WB and DC have a near-unlimited pool of resources to pull characters and story arcs, and yet, until now, they haven’t utilized them properly. We haven’t seen the long fabled Justice League movie, many of the second tier heroes underperform (Watchmen, Green Lantern, Constantine) or are just plain bad (Jonah Hex, Supergirl, Steel).

However things are rapidly changing. Under the trust and creative control of Zack Snyder and to a lesser extent Christopher Nolan, the DC Universe is starting to take form. Man of Steel started the universe, a universe which Batman exists in (and Cyborg and Aquaman if throwaway Easter Eggs in Man of Steel are to be believed). Eventually Batman will get his own solo movie, and there is also a movement in WB to connect Arrow (Which introduced Huntress, Deathstroke and soon the Flash) into the movie universe, possibly with a Flash TV series or solo film.

This particular entry, however, is all about Batman. I will quickly list my dream casting for the major supporting characters, and some ideas about which directions they should take with Batman (and the Bat Family)

Batman Dream Casting

Bruce/Batman –Ben Affleck

Joker – Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Eccleston

Riddler – David Tenant, Johnny Depp, David Hyde Pierce (as an older Riddler maybe?)

Mister Freeze – John Malkovich, Ed Harris, Sir Ben Kingsley, a bald Harrison Ford, Ralph Fiennes

Alfred - Timothy Dalton, David Hyde Pierce

Catwoman – Rachel Weisz, Kate Beckinsale

Harley Quinn – Kristen Bell, Helena Bonham Carter

Penguin – Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Jim Gordon – Kurt Russell, Michael Keaton

Hugo Strange – Sir Ben Kingsley, Hugo Weaving, Bryan Cranston

Robin/Red Hood – Jensen Ackles

Hush – Eric Bana, Jude Law

Bane – Javier Bardem

Poison Ivy – Eva Green (No Pun Intended) Cate Blanchett

Okay, now that that is out of the way, I feel the need to mention that not all of those listed are “main villains” which goes into the first item on my wishlist

Villain Cameos

If you have ever read the Long Halloween, Dark Victory, or Hush, then you know that the idea of villain cameos isn’t new. The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises actually did this to a lesser extent with Scarecrow, but I’m thinking a little bigger. Under Snyder, the DC Universe has a sense of surrealism to it, similar in flavor to the Arkham Video Games, and there is no reason why we can’t have a simple, say, Poison Ivy, or Calendar Man cameo just to get some plot information out in an interesting way.

Court of Owls

I didn’t put any cast members down for this, but it is something that I feel needs to be covered in film. One of the popular complaints is that this arc doesn’t feature a major villain, and people won’t flock to see it. To that I respond, once you put “Batman” in the title, you already have the cash of the casual cinema-goer in your pocket. Court of Owls was a compelling story, and can introduce a new villain into the mainstream, similar to what Nolan’s trilogy did for Ra’s al Ghul and his daughter Talia.

                          Batman Family

Batman doesn’t need 15 year old kids following him around, but it could be arranged that they are in their early twenties and have become somewhat autonomous, acting without Batman, but still coming to his aid and following orders. This is also and “older, wearier” Batman, and there is a possibility that he has already trained several other heroes who are also out on the prowl, such as Nightwing, Red Robin (Tim Drake) and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon or Cassandra Cain). Oracle (if they go that route) could also replace Lucius Fox as Caped Crusader’s computer/gadgetry expert, opening up a new dynamic not seen yet in live-action Batman.

Using Batman as a Platform

Man of Steel 2 has essentially become Batman vs. Superman. Batman would be a good way to bring in some street-level superheroes, such as the previously mentioned Bat-Family, and film versions of Green Arrow, Black Canary and Huntress, who have all teamed up with Batman in the past (In one continuity, Huntress is the child of batman and Catwoman, and Green Arrow was originally an idea for a second Batman sidekick)