So now that The Dark Knight Rises has arrived, rather than basking in the enjoyment of a spectacular and satisfying conclusion to one of the finest trilogies in modern film, attentions have turned to who will be directing the inevitable reboot in what I hope to be decades time, yet more likely to be in a few years time. Below I have compiled my personal shortlist of candidates I would consider. These candidates were chosen to be different from Chris Nolan and his vision. If we are going to get a reboot so soon after Nolan’s work, I want it to be something entirely different and fresh. Therefore the candidates below aren’t a list of the best and my favourite directors currently working today but more a list of directors who I think have more of a chance of being offered and accepting such a responsibility and who will offer something different to what we have already been given. Following that, is a list of those favourite and best directors, who of course in a dream scenario would be every studios first port of call (Five directors for each list, counting duos as one). However immediately below is my more realistic list with a couple of criteria, mostly focusing around uniqueness and like Nolan, not an extensive back catalogue prior to taking on the Batman.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Yes, I would seriously consider the directors of 21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to reboot Batman. Additionally, I would love to see them do it as an animation. This would be unarguably different from Nolan’s take and offer audiences something entirely new. With these two, comedically inclined and visually inventive filmmakers at the helm, we could get a cinematic Batman unlike anything we have ever seen before. They are currently working with an animated version of Batman (Voiced by Arrested Development’s Will Arnett) making their LEGO movie (Yes, a LEGO movie) and therefore will have had experience with the caped crusader. It would be bold, it would be risky, it would be different and thats precisely why it could be great. If we’re going to get Batman on the big screen again so soon after Nolan’s masterpiece of a trilogy, why not have something entirely different that isn’t Joel Schumacher levels of campiness.
Yes, I would seriously consider the directors of 21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to reboot Batman. Additionally, I would love to see them do it as an animation. This would be unarguably different from Nolan’s take and offer audiences something entirely new. With these two, comedically inclined and visually inventive filmmakers at the helm, we could get a cinematic Batman unlike anything we have ever seen before. They are currently working with an animated version of Batman (Voiced by Arrested Development’s Will Arnett) making their LEGO movie (Yes, a LEGO movie) and therefore will have had experience with the caped crusader. It would be bold, it would be risky, it would be different and thats precisely why it could be great. If we’re going to get Batman on the big screen again so soon after Nolan’s masterpiece of a trilogy, why not have something entirely different that isn’t Joel Schumacher levels of campiness.
Edgar Wright
One of my favourite filmmakers and with three films in his belt currently (The same amount Nolan had before tackling Batman Begins), although soon to become four and five with World’s End and Ant-Man, he has yet to, in my eyes, make a bad film. He has an encyclopedic popular culture knowledge and would have a deep appreciation for the series and character he would be taking on. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and Hot Fuzz have shown he can handle action, as well as demonstrating his unique and exciting visual style. Overall he’s a young, exciting filmmaker with an appreciation of the material. His busy schedule however (He is currently attached to four projects) would mean he wouldn’t be able to take directing duties for a while. However for me personally this is one of the biggest positives attached to him, as it means we will have a good chunk of time to let Nolan’s version settle and the character rest.
One of my favourite filmmakers and with three films in his belt currently (The same amount Nolan had before tackling Batman Begins), although soon to become four and five with World’s End and Ant-Man, he has yet to, in my eyes, make a bad film. He has an encyclopedic popular culture knowledge and would have a deep appreciation for the series and character he would be taking on. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and Hot Fuzz have shown he can handle action, as well as demonstrating his unique and exciting visual style. Overall he’s a young, exciting filmmaker with an appreciation of the material. His busy schedule however (He is currently attached to four projects) would mean he wouldn’t be able to take directing duties for a while. However for me personally this is one of the biggest positives attached to him, as it means we will have a good chunk of time to let Nolan’s version settle and the character rest.
Guillermo Del Toro
The true visionary filmmaker behind Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, next year’s Pacific Rim and the director who should have been making, The Hobbit. Del Toro is one of the most exciting directors currently working today and he has an unparalleled imagination. I am quite literally giddy at the thought of what his Gotham City would look like and how he would visualize Batman and his adversaries. He has experience working on massive productions (Even of a comic book nature with Hellboy) and with his horror/gothic/fantasy sensibilities, his Batman, while dark, would be of stark visual and tonal contrast to Nolan’s films.
The true visionary filmmaker behind Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, next year’s Pacific Rim and the director who should have been making, The Hobbit. Del Toro is one of the most exciting directors currently working today and he has an unparalleled imagination. I am quite literally giddy at the thought of what his Gotham City would look like and how he would visualize Batman and his adversaries. He has experience working on massive productions (Even of a comic book nature with Hellboy) and with his horror/gothic/fantasy sensibilities, his Batman, while dark, would be of stark visual and tonal contrast to Nolan’s films.
Neill Blomkamp
Director of 2009’s District 9 and next year’s Elysium, Blomkamp is currently very much a, “Sci-fi director” However Batman would be a great chance for him to flex his directorial muscles out of the genre (Unless he does a, “Batman Beyond”) District 9 showed that not only could he deliver stunning action sequences, but also on a low budget. Also, who doesn’t want to see Sharlto Copley in a Batman film?
Director of 2009’s District 9 and next year’s Elysium, Blomkamp is currently very much a, “Sci-fi director” However Batman would be a great chance for him to flex his directorial muscles out of the genre (Unless he does a, “Batman Beyond”) District 9 showed that not only could he deliver stunning action sequences, but also on a low budget. Also, who doesn’t want to see Sharlto Copley in a Batman film?
Kathryn Bigelow
An Oscar winning director, experienced with action and would be the first female to direct a superhero film after Patty Jenkins was removed from Thor 2. The fact that a female has yet to direct a superhero film is one I didn’t realize until writing that sentence (Scanning the list of directors for American superhero films there is not a single female name), that could surely be the basis of an entire article...why is it that only men have been appointed to, allowed to or are interested in directing such a genre? However Bigelow shouldn’t be given the reigns to Batman just because she’s a woman, she would be a worthy successor to Nolan because with the likes of Hurt Locker, Point Break and hopefully this year’s Zero Dark-Thirty (The “Killing Osama Bin Laden Movie”) she has proven that she can make exciting, intense, character driven, action packed films.
An Oscar winning director, experienced with action and would be the first female to direct a superhero film after Patty Jenkins was removed from Thor 2. The fact that a female has yet to direct a superhero film is one I didn’t realize until writing that sentence (Scanning the list of directors for American superhero films there is not a single female name), that could surely be the basis of an entire article...why is it that only men have been appointed to, allowed to or are interested in directing such a genre? However Bigelow shouldn’t be given the reigns to Batman just because she’s a woman, she would be a worthy successor to Nolan because with the likes of Hurt Locker, Point Break and hopefully this year’s Zero Dark-Thirty (The “Killing Osama Bin Laden Movie”) she has proven that she can make exciting, intense, character driven, action packed films.
The Dream Yet Unlikely to be Offered or Accept Candidates:
Darren Aronofsky - Yes I know he was attached to Batman before Nolan, but Warner Brothers didn’t commit to his supposedly darker and R rated vision. Yes, he was attached to direct The Wolverine, now he’s off the project. Twice Aronofsky has flirted with the big budget superhero genre and despite getting closer the second time, he has twice not gone through with it. He is in my opinion one of the finest directors working today, I would love to see his take, however I can’t see Warner Brothers wanting to go even darker after Nolan and I cannot see Aronofosky compromising his vision. He, along with the names below, would be one of my first phone calls (However if I was running the studio once I’d hired the director I’d let them do whatever they want, especially if they were Darren Aronofsky) but for reasons previously stated, I can’t see it happening.
David Fincher (Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds)
The Coen Brothers (True Grit, A Serious Man, Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona and Fargo)
Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love & There Will Be Blood)
What do you think? Who should reboot Batman and take what surely must now be one of the hardest jobs in Hollywood? Vote in the poll below, discuss it in our forum and the comments below. Also, click here to see my in-depth review of The Dark Knight Rises and click here for my spoiler-filled thoughts on specific scenes including the ending.
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
Darren Aronofsky - Yes I know he was attached to Batman before Nolan, but Warner Brothers didn’t commit to his supposedly darker and R rated vision. Yes, he was attached to direct The Wolverine, now he’s off the project. Twice Aronofsky has flirted with the big budget superhero genre and despite getting closer the second time, he has twice not gone through with it. He is in my opinion one of the finest directors working today, I would love to see his take, however I can’t see Warner Brothers wanting to go even darker after Nolan and I cannot see Aronofosky compromising his vision. He, along with the names below, would be one of my first phone calls (However if I was running the studio once I’d hired the director I’d let them do whatever they want, especially if they were Darren Aronofsky) but for reasons previously stated, I can’t see it happening.
David Fincher (Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds)
The Coen Brothers (True Grit, A Serious Man, Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona and Fargo)
Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love & There Will Be Blood)
What do you think? Who should reboot Batman and take what surely must now be one of the hardest jobs in Hollywood? Vote in the poll below, discuss it in our forum and the comments below. Also, click here to see my in-depth review of The Dark Knight Rises and click here for my spoiler-filled thoughts on specific scenes including the ending.
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
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