Now that's official, which actor you want as the new Batman in JLA?

[madmarva]

^ that'd be cool,

[knight errant00]

I was thinking that too. Even if you don't do spandex, it would be cool to see some version of the classic grey and blue color scheme.

Like this:

aaacwhite.jpg

aaac-5.jpg

And more pics

Armored, like the curent audience expects, but way more classic Batman in look.

[Hector]

The reason Dark Knight is a friggin' awesome movie was because of Heath Ledger, his Joker role was simply mesmerizing...one of the best silver screen performances ever.

[sprytel]

My greatest hope is they will finally start embracing a comic look for the Dark Knight and get away from the standard black rubber. It's time. And I think audiences are ready.

I was thinking that too. Even if you don't do spandex, it would be cool to see some version of the classic grey and blue color scheme.

Plus, nothing like a costume change to sell more merchandise!

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Yes, yes and yes.

Chris

[madmarva]

Chris, I agree with you on Bale. What I find lacking is more the script or Nolan's view of Batman than the performance. I think Nolan's conceit was that no one man could be Batman, but one man with a whole lot of resources and and a lot of help could be. Nolan wanted to explain some of the things about the character that I believe you just have to accept or go with. But, it's far more realistic to believe a guy could be a supreme detective than to believe what Batman is supposed to be able to do physically.

What I liked most about Batman Begins is the idea of creating a myth around Batman that makes him even more effective and that fear, trickery, subterfuge, science, technology and psychology are all weapons in Batman's arsenal as well as his physicality. If just more of the Detective skills could have been used.

[BlackKnight]

I think the growl was poor choice, but it never bothered me like it did others. Batman would either have to not speak or cover his voice in some way.

I think Bale's performance has been the best so far, but I'm also kinda of in Jason's camp, that the bar hasn't been set very high.

On the whole, the Batman movies have been better than the Superman films, but no one has nailed a portrayal of Batman as well as Reeve or Cavil have Superman.

I like Nolan and Bale's Batman, but they really left out the portion of the character that makes him stand out to me in the comics that being his detective skills and his brilliance.

Nolan's Batman seemed to outsource almost everything. I do like the idea of Batman being able to call upon experts for help, but not because something is out of his league but more because of time constraint. Batman could do anything Alfred or Oracle or Dick or Tim or Gordon could do, but he uses their help to be more efficient. To me he is the most capable human in the DCU, but at times it's more efficient for him to let subordinates handle certain things. In the Nolanverse, it seemed other than his ninja training, Batman's only resource was his wallet and Lucious Fox.

Really Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes, which is a more physical character than in the short stories and novels, is more how I envision Batman than anything Warners done with the Bat in their films.

U really nailed it Big Time There Wood.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I agree the detective angle is the single most important element of Batman that has been ignored in live-action films. Hell, Adam West played detective almost every episode, even if he did get most of his answers from either Robin or a Batcave gadget.

Christian Bale seems to be a very intense person in real life, and I think much of that came across on screen. That and his physicality are why I think he was ideally cast as Batman. I wish they could have developed the detective side, however.

Chris

[madmarva]

I think the growl was poor choice, but it never bothered me like it did others. Batman would either have to not speak or cover his voice in some way.

I think Bale's performance has been the best so far, but I'm also kinda of in Jason's camp, that the bar hasn't been set very high.

On the whole, the Batman movies have been better than the Superman films, but no one has nailed a portrayal of Batman as well as Reeve or Cavil have Superman.

I like Nolan and Bale's Batman, but they really left out the portion of the character that makes him stand out to me in the comics that being his detective skills and his brilliance.

Nolan's Batman seemed to outsource almost everything. I do like the idea of Batman being able to call upon experts for help, but not because something is out of his league but more because of time constraint. Batman could do anything Alfred or Oracle or Dick or Tim or Gordon could do, but he uses their help to be more efficient. To me he is the most capable human in the DCU, but at times it's more efficient for him to let subordinates handle certain things. In the Nolanverse, it seemed other than his ninja training, Batman's only resource was his wallet and Lucious Fox.

Really Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes, which is a more physical character than in the short stories and novels, is more how I envision Batman than anything Warners done with the Bat in their films.

[BlackKnight]

I know he gets a lot of crap for the growly voice, but Bale is going to be hard to top.

Not really ...., Most people couldn't get past the Growl.
U watch how easy that will be forgotten ..., if they get somebody actually good.
Dark Knight was the Best Batman Movie Ever Made to me ....
But I could also careless about Beginings and Rises.

[Hector]

Bale was awesome, you are not going to get any disagreements from me.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I know he gets a lot of crap for the growly voice, but Bale is going to be hard to top. For me, he is the first modern actor to thoroughly convince me he was both Bruce Wayne AND Batman. He was physically perfect for a Neal Adams-type Batman, and even looked a lot like Adam's interpretation through the face. Plus, he nailed the part.

To me, Adam West is the pre-"Dark Avenger of the Night" Batman, and Bale is the Dark Knight version. It sounds like the new Batman will be more like the later, especially with Snyder having the actor who played the General from MoS read excerpts from Dark Knight Returns to introduce the concept.

Chris

[madmarva]

^amen, brother. But if they wouldn't use Superman's traditional suit, I think we're going to be stuck with black rubber armor.

I always thought Eastwood would have been a good batman. His movie The Dead Pool came out during the same time period The Dark Night Returns was hitting comic stores in '86. Though he was a lot slimmer than Miller's interpretation, he would have been perfect for a 55ish year old Batman coming out of retirement at that time. I think his face would have looked great in the cowl/helmet.

If they ever do adapt Batman Beyond, he would be perfect for old man Bruce.

I'm warming up to Worthington as Batman. He's got menacing eyes and a jawline that would work in the mask. But I still believe Urban is the best choice. Someone mentioned Tim Olyphant before, and I think he'd be good, too, but he's in his 40s, too.

Of all the Batmen, I think Clooney looked best or most like the Batman of the comics in the mask, but that movie is sooo bad it's hard to even think about.

We're all thinking about ages of actors and while a 40ish Batman would limit the guy to 3 films, probably, there are few 25 year olds that fit the role of Batman. They just look too young to me. Maybe it's just me getting old.

[MIB41]

My greatest hope is they will finally start embracing a comic look for the Dark Knight and get away from the standard black rubber. It's time. And I think audiences are ready.

[Bruce Banner]

Actor nationalities don't concern me in the slightest, either.
If they're good in the role, look the part, and can pull off the accent of the character they're playing, it's all good.