Matt Reeves' Batman movie - What do you want to see?

[bat39]

So in the past week, there's been a lot of buzz around this movie. Specifically, around the possibility that Reeves' script draws from Year One and that he's looking to cast someone in the 25-30 age-range as Batman. Not to mention, Harvey Dent being in the film.

This is of course in addition to the long-standing rumors of the Penguin being a villain, if not THE villain in the film. And the debate over whether or not its in the DCEU, the 'Joker' movie continuity, or some other universe altogether.

IMO, what I've been hearing lately is pretty encouraging. The source who dropped the Year One bombshell, later clarified that he's also rumored to be drawing from Zero Year and Dark Victory.

Now people have been drawing conclusions that this film is basically going to be a Batman Begins retread. But I don't think so. A younger actor and 'early years' Batman stories doesn't necessarily mean an origin. It just means a story set relatively early in Batman's career. Which, if its not an origin, I'm totally fine with.

What's more intriguing though is Dark Victory's inclusion, given that it deals with Dick Grayson's origin story. I'd love it if Reeves' film will finally give us a good Robin origin story.

Here's how I'd like to think the movie will go - we start with Batman maybe just a few years into his career. The public have just started to believe in his existence and accept him as a hero. Gordon has just become the GCPD Commissioner. The police have started cooperating with Batman although he's still officially wanted as a vigilante. Batman has dealt the underworld a severe blow, but 'super villains' have started crawling out of the woodwork.

Amidst all this, Bruce takes a trip to Haly's Circus near the beginning of the movie and witnesses the deaths of the Flying Graysons. He starts investigating their deaths as Batman, and discovers that their murders are part of a deeper Mob conspiracy. Their 15 year old son, Dick Grayson, who was taken into foster care, and sets off to learn the truth about his parent's murders. Batman runs into him when he's out on the streets and tries to dissuade him, but Dick is determined.

The rest of the film is about Batman secretly training Dick in the Batcave, letting him help and hoping to keep him out of trouble, while trying to figure out what the hell happened to the Graysons. By the end of the film, Dick will have proven himself to be a capable partner and becomes Robin, while also becoming Bruce's ward.

What would you like to see in Reeves' film?

[Robotman]

Really don’t want to see an adaptation of Year One. We don’t need yet another Batman origin story. So tired of seeing the Waynes shot and Bruce training to be Batman. Bat’s origin story has been adapted more than Superman’s death.

[Frontier]

Really don’t want to see an adaptation of Year One. We don’t need yet another Batman origin story. So tired of seeing the Waynes shot and Bruce training to be Batman. Bat’s origin story has been adapted more than Superman’s death.

I agree.

A younger Batman is one thing but I don't think we need another origin movie.

[ispacehead]

Meh, considering that they've never really gotten Batman right on film, I don't see why they shouldn't start over.

Well, that and the fact that it's been over a decade since the last origin film.

[InfamousBG]

I do not believe we need another origin story. A young Bruce/Bat in his first few years could be great. Have Harvey in it, bring in Dick, have Penguin as the villain. It could work when done right.

[ysosrs]

How many damn Batman origin movies do we need? Enough already. I'd rather see a Batman Beyond movie over that... Give me an old cranky Bats on the big screen over yet another young Bruce Wayne learning to become Batman.

[Vakanai]

I have never understood the hate most fans have with origin movies. Batman has had all of two origin movies out of over ten live action appearances in thirty years, the first of which barely even touched on any of the origin stuff and the second one was over a decade ago, and yet Batman fans all have a collective groan at the thought of another origin film. And most of the time they complain about seeing the Waynes getting shot yet again when that part at most might only account for like five minutes of a two hour movie. Sure fans also see that one scene referenced and repeated in every other issue, every cartoon, direct to video, and so forth, but that's only the one scene, not the whole origin story. Hell, it was almost twenty years before they dared tell another version of the origin (not counting crazy Elseworlds where you threw a Green Lantern ring or something else into the equation because Elseworlds) because Year One was such sacred ground, even though it was much more a Jim Gordon origin than Batman's, in the comics. There's nothing wrong with getting another take on the origin every fifteen years or so. Especially if it tries something different.

I'm not crazy about the Dark Victory rumors, but then I'm the oddball out in this forum because I prefer Batman over the Batfamily and Robin has never been a favorite character of mine (Robin in general, but honestly Richard Grayson in particular just falls flat for me, blasphemy I know). Plus Dick's origin always felt the least interesting of the Robins. I don't know, the circus background is hard to relate to.

On the other hand, I like the Penguin rumor, always one of my favorite Batman villains even if he often doesn't get the respect he deserves, and I would love it if it takes cues from Zero Year (well, the first part, everything after the Red Hood arc is a bit of letdown).

[Mutant God]

An Arkham Asylum movie, with Batman going into enemy territory

[Aahz]

I think it would make more sense to mix Batman. Year One with Batman Annual 14, if they want a young Batman vs Two-Face Story, opposed to using Dark Victory.

[bat39]

I have never understood the hate most fans have with origin movies. Batman has had all of two origin movies out of over ten live action appearances in thirty years, the first of which barely even touched on any of the origin stuff and the second one was over a decade ago, and yet Batman fans all have a collective groan at the thought of another origin film. And most of the time they complain about seeing the Waynes getting shot yet again when that part at most might only account for like five minutes of a two hour movie. Sure fans also see that one scene referenced and repeated in every other issue, every cartoon, direct to video, and so forth, but that's only the one scene, not the whole origin story. Hell, it was almost twenty years before they dared tell another version of the origin (not counting crazy Elseworlds where you threw a Green Lantern ring or something else into the equation because Elseworlds) because Year One was such sacred ground, even though it was much more a Jim Gordon origin than Batman's, in the comics. There's nothing wrong with getting another take on the origin every fifteen years or so. Especially if it tries something different.

I'm not crazy about the Dark Victory rumors, but then I'm the oddball out in this forum because I prefer Batman over the Batfamily and Robin has never been a favorite character of mine (Robin in general, but honestly Richard Grayson in particular just falls flat for me, blasphemy I know). Plus Dick's origin always felt the least interesting of the Robins. I don't know, the circus background is hard to relate to.

On the other hand, I like the Penguin rumor, always one of my favorite Batman villains even if he often doesn't get the respect he deserves, and I would love it if it takes cues from Zero Year (well, the first part, everything after the Red Hood arc is a bit of letdown).

I do agree that an objection to showing a flashback of the Wayne murders is maybe taking it a bit far. I had absolutely no problem with that scene in BvS. In fact, the prologue was one of the absolute best parts of the entire movie. The murder is one of the iconic images of the entire Batman mythos, if not THE iconic image.

But I kind of understand the frustration with dealing with a full-fledged origin story again.

There's a sense that we don't need to see the sandbox being assembled and re-assembled over and over again - without just having the chance to have it already intact and ready for exploration.

An origin story is sometimes perceived as a necessary evil one has to slog through in order to be able to get to the 'good stuff'. Not that there aren't brilliant origin stories. But when a characters origin is already so well known, and has been explored multiple times across all media, and in a film that is part of one of the greatest superhero film trilogies ever, then you kinda feel that its a 'necessary evil' we don't have to sit through again.

Personally, another problem I have is that most of the recent Batman films have dealt with the beginning and ending of Batman's career. Begins and TDK dealt with the beginning. TDKR dealt with the end. The DCEU has shown us a grizzled Batman pretty late into his career...once all the 'good stuff' is already behind him.

But the vast majority of Batman stories occur in the middle. Its that juicy mid-point of Batman's career, the 'eternal now' that all the comics and cartoons and video games chronicle, that a lot of fans long to see represented on-screen. And we haven't had a decent live-action film do that in like...forever. (Pun intended, if you know what I mean!)

I mean, the latter three instalments in the Burton/Schumacher series kind of depicted this era...but not necessarily very well. TDK could be argued to depict the very start of this era, but IMO, its very much a 'Year One' story.

We've seen Batman just after he's put on the cowl. And we've seen Batman who's been at it for decades, lost Robin, and is world-weary and a tortured soul. But when are we going to get on-screen, in full glory, Batman in his heyday with Robin and Batgirl and whoever else? Batman taking on the likes of Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Hugo Strange, Man-Bat, Black Mask...and the rest of his ever-growing iconic rogue's gallery?

I think that's really what this is about.

[MarkRodriguez09]

The problem with new movies starting from scratch is they have the burden of selling the idea of a guy dressed as a bat chasing clowns and penguins to not just the audience but to the people within the movie. It would be jarring for a new movie starting with Batman fighting Joker for the 20th time with them trading comments that imply they've been at it for years. Batman Forver gets a pass cause it was the 3rd movie already.

Nolan's movies are good but he had the trilogy idea early on. Had they gone for maybe 2 movies of Bats in his prime before TDKR closed the curtain it would have been great.

Batman also has this weird overlying theme that sooner or later he has to 'grow up', hang up the cape and be normal before he's killed. I don't see that in other hero movies. Any other movie has the 'the world needs more heroes' theme while Batman is usually being told he needs to stop before he gets killed, despite Joker and Bane are wreaking havok and noone else but Batman can stop them.

We need a movie that embraces Batman as a necessary evil in Gotham and give him a good line of sequels. I mean how many Mission Impossible movies out there have Tom Cruise save the world over and over again, yet we're told Batman can't do it for more than 3 or 4 movies?

[DragonPiece]

I don't want a origin, but seems like we are getting one either way.

[kilderkin]

An Arkham Asylum movie, with Batman going into enemy territory

This I would love

No interest in another origin at all

Not really interested in a different batman or one set in the early days to be honest, but certainly if it's set in the younger period I would want it to be the same as afflecks batman, I could roll with that

Another batman universe I have no interest in, aside from batman begins I didn't rate the Nolan films at all and I didn't think there's much purpose in another version of Batman being around from the current one, even if another actor plays him

[dietrich]

Dick bats is all i want.

If there's going to be a sidekick Only Damian and Jason interest me. We've seen Dick and 'Normal' robin too many times and they've never worked.

[Batman Begins 2005]

An Arkham Asylum movie, with Batman going into enemy territory

I like this.

Which actor do we want under the cowl? My choices were Fassbender, Urban and Gyllenhaal when The Dark Knight Trilogy concluded.