Batman: The Dark Knight

[Masa]

Christian Bale Says ‘Batman 3’ Might Not Happen

Published by Rick Marshall on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 4:21 pm.

If not for the offer of “whipping lessons” from Michelle Pfeiffer, the Catwoman of 1992’s “Batman Returns,” last week would have been a complete downer for Batman movie fans. On Wednesday, a rumor hit the ‘Net that director Christopher Nolan might not return for a third film after “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” and we’ve seen little reason to disqualify it thus far. Heck, when we spoke to Batman actor Christian Bale on the set of his upcoming film “Public Enemies,” even he sounded uncertain about the Dark Knight’s big-screen future.

“I truly don’t know that we’re ever going to see another Batman movie,” Bale told MTV News. Bale, whose contract requires him to play Gotham’s greatest hero in at least three films, said Nolan’s participation is likely to be decided by the quality of script over any other factor. “It would be purely that he would need to find a story that was good enough,” said Bale, “and if he couldn’t find that it wouldn’t happen.”

While Bale is obligated to put on the cape and cowl again, the same isn’t true for Nolan. “The Dark Knight” director is currently working on “Inception,” so if “Batman 3″ did enter the equation, production couldn’t begin until 2011 at the earliest. As it is, Bale said the idea of a Batman movie without Nolan wasn’t something he was willing to consider at this point, but reiterated that he wasn’t sure if audiences should ever expect a third film in the current franchise. “I don’t even want to think about that,” said Bale. “I don’t know if there will be a third.”

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/06/22/christian-bale-says-batman-3-might-not-happen/

Nolan and BATMAN 3: FAR From a Done Deal?

FYI: If you are coming to this story from another outlet, NOT ONCE does it say in the following report that Chris Nolan is DONE with the BATMAN film franchise. While many responsible websites sourced this story correctly (THANKS to my colleagues who did just that!), a TON of them did not. Heck, they damn near made up stuff! So again, FYI. - "Jett" When I got the chance to visit with David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan a year ago, one of the things I heard them tell us media folk was that they had to lobby and “convince” Chris Nolan to do THE DARK KNIGHT and they’d probably have to do the same thing for there to be a Nolan-helmed BATMAN 3. Maybe the sale-job on Chris for a third BATMAN is going to be a really tough one this time.

Despite the fact that BOF has had some unofficial assurances that Chris would indeed return and direct a third BATMAN, industry scuttlebutt says – and has been saying – differently. I’ve been told that while they desperately want another Chris Nolan BATMAN, Warner Bros. does have a shortlist of directors (Zack Snyder's reps told BOF that he wasn't interested) they’d consider and ultimately turn to if (and when) Nolan’s done with The Caped Crusader. And frankly, it certainly wouldn’t be prudent of them not to have such a list.

Several (and unrelated) industry friends of BOF have been telling me over the last year that it’s far from a given that Chris will do another one. And alarmingly, this one’s starting to pick up steam. Case it point, a report I received from an old friend of the site overnight via email. This cat works in the business behind the camera and has proved to me long ago to be legit. With that said, this again is what I term “Industry Scuttlebutt,” so keep that in mind. Also, if any of my friends at Warner Bros. or reps of Mr. Nolan want to refute the following, you’ve got an open forum here. Anyway, according to our source…

* The death of Heath Ledger in January of 2008 rocked Mr. Nolan hard. So hard that Chris was convinced that TDK was going to be it for him and Batman on film.

* The Joker was going to return in BATMAN 3.

* “You are correct in reporting that he is developing story ideas with [Jonathan Nolan] and David Goyer, but it will be until AT LEAST 2012 before we see the Caped Crusader back [in theaters]. And that is only an EARLY ESTIMATE at best right now. They are even saying it might not be until 2013.”

* Basically, the BATMAN film franchise is back to square one. As far as a story or a BATMAN 3, “Right now, there is none,” says our guy.

Now, there was some other stuff that was off the record (mainly to protect our guy's identity), but really, it doesn’t affect the jest of this story. The bottom line here is that we may be a ways away from a BATMAN 3 -- with or without Chris Nolan. Look, I want Mr. Nolan to return as much as anyone else and have TONS of respect for him, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, David Goyer, Jonathan Nolan, and the rest of the folks who’ve given us the BEST two BATMAN films ever. But if Chris is done, then he’s done and I’m sure as hell not going to begrudge the guy. Despite the fact that I am a “Batman Fan” first and foremost, I’ve also grown to be a big Chris Nolan fan as well. BUT…

As a Batman fan, I certainly hope that Warner Bros. has a contingent plan in place – and one much better than the one they had back in the early 90s. Despite the bummer vibe that permeates this report, let me remind you of the positives. One, Warner Bros. has not officially announced that Chris is done and the search is underway for a new Bat-director. Secondly, Nolan himself has admitted to “musing” with David Goyer about the storyline of a third film. Third, back in February, IGN reported that Chris is the only screenwriter attached to B3 per the WGA. And finally, the same industry scuttlebutt that produced today’s story also says that Chris’ deal with WB for INCEPTION included at least a handshake agreement for BATMAN 3.

http://www.batman-on-film.com/BATMAN3_nolan-far-from-B3_6-16-09.html

[Masa]

Gary Oldman Says the Next Batman is Shooting Next Year?!

So don't take this and run with it, but Gary Oldman, who plays Commissioner Gordon, just told fans in Hall H at Comic-Con that the next Batman movie will begin shooting next year. This is the first we've ever heard of this and I think he's jumping the gun a bit and being too hopeful. He didn't say anything else besides that it would be shooting next year (and he wasn't being skeptical - this was a for sure statement). Though he did say, "you didn't hear it from me." As we know, Christopher Nolan is currently shooting Inception, which is scheduled for release next July 16th. But will the script even be ready to go by then?

Here's the problem with the next Batman - everyone's waiting to find out more about it. A few months ago, a bunch of rumors started floating around about Christopher Nolan not being interested in returning, but those were obviously bullshit. So who really knows if they'll actually start shooting this next year (maybe by the end of year after Inception). If anything, someone like Gary Oldman would know. And the way he answered the question made it sound like a sure statement, as in, he wouldn't say that unless he really felt like it would happen. So there you go, you heard it from Gary Oldman - or wait, you didn't hear it from him!

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/07/24/gary-oldman-says-the-next-batman-is-shooting-next-year/

[Masa]

Rumor: Chris Nolan Wants to Shoot Batman 3 Entirely in IMAX

This is only a rumor because it hasn't been confirmed by anyone - Nolan, IMAX, or Warner Brothers. Harry at AICN wrote a piece saying that Christopher Nolan is interested in shooting the inevitable Batman 3 movie entirely in and with IMAX cameras. This isn't all that surprising to hear, as Nolan has been a long-time support of IMAX and really wanted to shoot all of The Dark Knight in IMAX but discovered there are huge technical issues that prevented him (such as only being able to shoot 3 minutes at a time and the cameras being so heavy and loud). But maybe they'll have worked all that out by the time Batman 3 shoots?

At this point in time, almost anything we hear about the third Batman is always a rumor, because Chris is 100% dedicated to Inception right now and they haven't so much as even written a single line of the script yet (or so we've heard). But then again, if IMAX is to work with Nolan to develop a camera that is smaller, quiet, and can shoot more than 3 minutes, they might as well start working on it now. Nolan is shooting Inception as we speak and an IMAX rep told me that "Inception is definitely one of the titles that we are looking at for 2010." I have a feeling that means he's already shooting with IMAX as much as possible.

In fact, Harry addresses just that, claiming: "Part of the reason that Nolan went forward with Inception first - besides taking a creative break from the cape and cowl adventures - was possibly to create a few new IMAX cameras made to his specs." Makes sense, but that side of IMAX (development) is notoriously hard to find out anything about, especially because their engineering team is probably working directly with Nolan already (and not that publicly accessible). However, Harry says that the third chapter of Nolan's Batman saga "could very well be FULLY shot in IMAX, not IMAX Digital - but the beautiful, stunning IMAX that we saw pieces of The Dark Knight in." That would be quite glorious, but is it nothing more than a pipe dream?

Maybe not. We got a good 20 minutes of IMAX scenes during Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and maybe 20 to 30 minutes in The Dark Knight, so with 3 to 4 years of extra technological development and another movie to test new cameras on, maybe they really could find out how to shoot 152 minutes in IMAX. Oh and just to assure you that this isn't all just made up, Nolan himself is quoted in USA Today as saying: "There's simply nothing like seeing a movie that way… I wish I could shoot the entire thing this way." And there's this entire article. So maybe, just maybe, by 2011 or 2012, we'll see Batman 3 entirely in IMAX.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/08/26/rumor-chris-nolan-wants-to-shoot-batman-3-entirely-in-imax/

[MochaNutz]

Megan Fox apparently casted to play Catwoman in next Batman movie

The Transformers sex symbol will thrill fans by donning a tight PVC catsuit to play Selina Kyle in director Christopher Nolan's next instalment about the comic book hero, The Sun reports.

Megan, 23, follows in the footsteps of Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Catwoman in Batman Returns, and Halle Berry, who played the vixen in flop spin-off movie Catwoman.

Christian Bale will return as millionaire Bruce Wayne/the Caped Crusader and Sir Michael Caine will be back as his faithful butler Alfred.

Filming is due to begin next year with the movie expected to hit screens in 2011.

http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/movies/news/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=149367837&GT1=61502

[NaoLove]

His voice had me cracking. I mean, seriously? 

[Masa]

Michael Caine Says Batman 3 Might Not Happen

Batman's faithful butler, Alfred, has dropped bad news ... again. Batman fans everywhere have been furiously blogging and discussing the twists and turns in the will-they-or-won't-they debate over a third installment of Christopher Nolan's revamped Batman franchise. Early on it was announced that, although lead actor Christian Bale was contractually obligated to appear in Batman 3, Nolan had no such obligation and might decide not to direct another one.

Screenwriter David S. Goyer gave fans some hope when he said that he believed Nolan would return if he could "find the story that he's happy with." Then, Gary Oldman got everyone excited when he announced that filming would begin in 2010, only to recant his statement a couple days later. Actor Cillian Murphy, who played The Scarecrow in the first two films, is hopeful that another film will be made, and Aaron Eckhart, said that he "would do anything" Nolan asked of him, including reprise his TDK role of Two-Face.

Michael Caine, who plays butler Alfred in both Batman films, initially gave fans some intriguing news when he announced that Johnny Depp and Philip Seymor Hoffman had been cast respectively as The Riddler and The Joker in Batman 3. However, a year later he retracted his statement saying that Depp was not involved and that there was "nobody ... no script, there's nothing." Now, Caine is at it again, this time announcing that fans shouldn't hold their breath for another installment of bat-justice.

"As for the future... if they ever make another Batman, I will be in, I will be the butler... But I don't know if they are ever going to make another Batman. If they do it won't be for quite a while."

http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie-news/5059/michael-caine-says-batman-3-might-not-happen

[rebornsoul]

His voice had me cracking. I mean, seriously? 

yea its almost like he had to fake a "fierce" voice 

[SomethingWild]

Finally saw the Dark Night  Definitely lived up to my expectations 

Batman's voice was the best. Trying to sound super though 

[L1mpk1d78]

They need to make another one. This is by far the best superhero franchises in the movie industry. It would really suck if they dont make another one.