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Friday, November 13
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."
Posted 11/13/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Aaron Eckhart | Christian Bale | Gary Oldman | Michael Caine | Christopher Nolan | Batman Begins | Cillian Murphy | The Dark Knight | David Goyer
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Wednesday, November 11
It's still unclear whether director Christopher Nolan will be returning for a third chapter in the Batman revamp, let alone what villain(s) will square off against the Dark Knight. Still, there have been rumors for months now that The Riddler will make a return appearance some fifteen years after Jim Carrey portrayed the character in Batman Forever.
Everyone from Eddie Murphy, to Johnny Depp to Curb Your Enthusiasm funnyman Larry David have been mentioned in connection to the roll of Edward Nigma, the villain who compulsively confesses to his crimes in riddle form. So when MTV recently sat down with actor and comedian Dane Cook (My Best Friend's Girl), they asked him if he would be interested in the part.
If they brought back The Riddler — a new Riddler the way they did with The Joker — that would be badass. I would do that.
When they were making the new one and they were doing The Joker, I always thought it [should be] kind of like The Crow — having that dark element but still comedic. It would probably have to be something in that vein, even though I think what Heath Ledger did with the Joker was the greatest comic book villain ever.
Cook also said that he would like to star in "anything sci-fi or comic book related," but that he hasn't been auditioning because he has been on tour.
Posted 11/11/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Christopher Nolan | Batman Begins | Dane Cook | The Dark Knight | Batman 3
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Monday, July 27
Fans at the San Diego Comic-Con went crazy when Gary Oldman — who played James Gordon in the first two Batman films since the relaunch — dropped the news that Batman 3 would be going into production soon, with an expected 2011 release. Since then, the internet has been abuzz with wild rumors and speculations about the plot of the movie, the villains, and whether or not director Christopher Nolan would be on board.
Now, however, it appears that Oldman's announcement was premature. In a recent interview, Oldman said that it might be a few years before we see another Batman movie. The big question is: was Oldman premature in the announcement or just misinformed? We'll just have to wait and see.
Posted 7/27/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Gary Oldman | Christopher Nolan | Batman Begins | The Dark Knight
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Friday, June 26
With Terminator Salvation dominating the (overseas) box office and Public Enemies opening July 1, it's hard to believe that Christian Bale took a year off from acting. However, Bale's ready to step back into the ring in more ways than one as he plays Mark Wahlberg's boxer-training brother in The Fighter. Bale described the movie to Collider.
It's a true story of two incredibly gifted boxers who were half brothers. The one, Dicky Ecklund, who fought Sugar Ray Leonard at a very young age, when he was twenty one, was an incredible natural talent. He lived a very hard life. Then he came to train his brother, Irish Mickey Ward, to the world title.
The role meant some serious dieting, which Bale explained to MTV.
I've had to [lose] a great deal of weight because he was a welterweight.
Bale has lost and gained weight for roles several times in his career, at one point dropping 62 pounds for The Machinist before gaining it all back and more for Batman Begins. Bale is using fairly conventional methods for his weight loss this time around:
There’s nothing like boxing for getting you in shape. It’s a wonderful thing when your trainer is actually the person you’re playing.
Production on The Fighter starts in July, releasing sometime in 2011. David O. Russell will direct.
Posted 6/26/2009 by Ryan
Related: Christian Bale | Mark Wahlberg | The Machinist | Batman Begins | Sugar Ray Leonard | David O. Russell | Terminator Salvation | Public Enemies | The Fighter
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Friday, June 19
The possibility of Christopher Nolan returning for Batman 3 was in question this week when a report revealed that Nolan would need much convincing to come back.
IGN spoke with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight writer David Goyer, who gave a brief and positive disclosure that Nolan would return to the Batman franchise.
Well, I believe he said if we can find the story that he's happy with, that he would return. And unfortunately, respecting Chris... You know, talk to him after he finishes Inception, which he's shooting right now. That just started shooting.
What Goyer means by "unfortunately, respecting Chris..." is anyone's guess. It's best to concentrate on the "he would return" part.
Posted 6/19/2009 by Ryan
Related: Christopher Nolan | Batman Begins | The Dark Knight | Batman 3 | David Goyer
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Wednesday, June 17
Christian Bale has already bemoaned that he is contractually obligated to return for Batman 3 whether Christopher Nolan is involved or not. While Nolan and writer David Goyer have been discussing possible story ideas for some time, Bale may be without the director that revitalized the Batman franchise with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
According to a source speaking with Batman-on-Film, it took a lot of convincing to bring Nolan back for The Dark Knight, but after Heath Ledger's tragic death, it may be impossible to convince the director to come back again. The source confirmed that Nolan, Goyer, and Jonathan Nolan have discussed story ideas, but had originally intended for the Joker to return in Batman 3, creating a problem they have not been able to solve. So far, no decisions have been made regarding the story for Batman 3, pushing the movie's release until 2012 or, possibly, 2013.
Nolan is currently working on Inception, his sci-fi thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Obviously, fans would love to have Nolan return for the third Batman, but until Nolan's involvement is official, they will have to find solace in a report from February that said Nolan's studio deal for Inception included an agreement to make Batman 3. Keep your fingers crossed.
Posted 6/17/2009 by Ryan
Related: Christian Bale | Jonathan Nolan | Christopher Nolan | Leonardo DiCaprio | Batman Begins | Heath Ledger | The Dark Knight | Batman 3 | Inception
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Wednesday, May 13
Fox has got to be pleased. With X-Men Origins: Wolverine's success, the studio is now working on a Deadpool movie, a Wolverine sequel, X-Men trilogy prequel (X-Men: First Class), and X-Men Origins: Magneto. While Magneto has been at times "on hold," it seems that the movie is moving ahead and looking for a director. IMDb lists James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) as "in talks" to direct the movie from a script by David Goyer (Batman Begins), who was unable to direct due to his commitment to his The Invisible Man.
X-Men Origins: Magneto will expand on Magneto's concentration camp beginnings, shown briefly in X-Men, and his fractious relationship with Charles Xavier. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner has called the script "fantastic."
Posted 5/13/2009 by Ryan
Related: James McTeigue | Lauren Shuler Donner | V for Vendetta | Batman Begins | X-Men | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | X-Men Origins: Magneto | Deadpool | X-Men: First Class | The Invisible Man | David Goyer
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Wednesday, April 1
Who knew that X-Men Origins: Wolverine's release date was bumped up to April Fool's Day? Not Fox, that for sure. Copies of the work print for the upcoming movie, an early version of the movie lacking in visual effects, sound editing, and possibly extra scenes has been passed around BitTorrent sites all day. Inquiring minds, particularly those at Fox (who are threatening to sue the person responsible for leaking the copy) have to be asking: How did this happen?
Wolverine isn't the first movie to be leaked onto the Internet. Script leaks have been commonplace for a long time in Hollywood, however, an early version of an entire movie is somewhat rare. Hulk leaked two weeks early in 2003 (and then proved to be a dud at the box office), and the leaked ending of Terminator Salvation forced the filmmakers into creating a new one. CHUD reports that the Wolverine leak could be traced to any part of the movie post-production process, from the digital effects department, to someone working on titles or even the eventual DVD version of the movie. An industry source told CHUD that this kind of leak should happen more often and that copies of a Wolverine DVD have been passed around for the last couple of weeks.
While CHUD and other early "reviewers" claim there is no "watermark" or company logo visible on the workprint, TorrentFreak reports that a brief message appears early on saying "Rising Sun Pictures" as well as a date, March 2, 2009. Rising Sun Pictures is an Australian visual effects company that has worked on Batman Begins, Watchmen, Terminator Salvation the Harry Potter movies as well as X-Men Origins: Wolverine. No word as of yet whether they are indeed the guilty party.
Posted 4/1/2009 by Ryan
Related: Batman Begins | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Watchmen | Terminator Salvation
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Wednesday, February 18
With the announcement a week ago that Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was set to direct Inception this summer from a script Nolan wrote himself, it seemed like any Batman sequel would have to be put on the back burner. However, Batman-on-Film reported days later that "three sources" said the Inception deal includes "an agreement between the studio and the acclaimed director to helm his second sequel to Batman Begins". This backs up the story by referring to their December report that Nolan himself mentioned he and David Goyer were discussing a third story that they both liked.
MTV News then brought the Batman-on-Film report to a Nolan rep, who denied the report was true.
"He is doing Inception next. We haven’t announced any deal or anything on the next Batman as that is all speculation," said the rep. We get it, wait for an announcement from Nolan.
Inception, described as a "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind," should start shooting this summer for a summer 2010 release.
Posted 2/18/2009 by Ryan
Related: Christopher Nolan | Batman Begins | The Dark Knight | Batman 3 | Inception | David Goyer
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Wednesday, July 23
One of the fun parts about new Batman movies are the Bat-gadgets and there's no greater Bat-gadget than the Batmobile.
Several directors have taken liberties with the vehicle and we examine where they got their inspiration in The Evolution of the Batmobile.
Posted 7/23/2008 by reelz
Related: Batman | Batman Forever | Batman Begins | The Dark Knight