It’s late 1997, and despite the critical lashing that Batman & Robin has received, director Joel Schumacher has been given the reigns once again, this time to direct Batman Triumphant. George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell and Alicia Silverstone are all due to return, this time facing off against The Scarecrow (to be played by either Nicholas Cage or Jeff Goldblum), Harley Quinn (to be played by Madonna) and the return of The Joker himself (with Jack Nicholson once again in the white make-up). But at the last minute, Warner Brothers decide to pull the plug on the whole thing, and take the franchise in a new direction…
It’s late 2012, and The Dark Knight Rises is finally on its way out of most cinemas around the world. After taking over the franchise with Batman Begins in 2005, director Christopher Nolan hasn’t just revitalized the Batman movie franchise, but his approach has made Hollywood take notice and reassess how they make their comic book movies. After the camp, day-glo feel of Schumacher’s Batman, Nolan showed that comic book movies could be taken seriously, could be made to feel real. Despite some depressing influences like 9/11 and the current global economic crisis, The Dark Knight Trilogy still had audiences coming back for return visits to Gotham, and between the three movies, managed to make almost $2.5 billion worldwide. Nolan managed one of the rarest feats in Hollywood; a quality trilogy of movies, and now that he has finished telling his story about a man dressed as a bat who beats up bad guys, there seems to be an overwhelming sense of “Now what?” It would appear that failure can leave more options open.
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