The Dark Knight

[DarKnight 0]

Even so, the ending to Batman Returns wasn't exactly light and fluffy.

 

Maybe not, since the Penguin and Max Shreck died, but the bad guys are stopped and they reveal Catwoman to be alive in the last shot. You got to love the continuity of the old series. Catwoman was revealed to be alive at the end of the movie, and she doesn't appear at all in the next movie! Same thing with Harvey Dent, he appeared in the first movie, and wasn't in the 2nd.

[ZGangsta 0]

Even so, the ending to Batman Returns wasn't exactly light and fluffy.

 

Maybe not, since the Penguin and Max Shreck died, but the bad guys are stopped and they reveal Catwoman to be alive in the last shot. You got to love the continuity of the old series. Catwoman was revealed to be alive at the end of the movie, and she doesn't appear at all in the next movie! Same thing with Harvey Dent, he appeared in the first movie, and wasn't in the 2nd.

Were the Shumacher ones supposed to be in continuity with the Burton ones? I never got that.

If so, then Harvey Dent going from Billy Dee Williams to Tommy Lee Jones is pretty wierd.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

I think there was continuity. Nicole Kidman's character references Catwoman when trying to chat up Batman in Batman forever.

 

 

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

What I liked most about The Watchmen trailer before TDK was immediately recognizing the Smashing Pumpkins song was already used in the Batman & Robin soundtrack, much to people's annoyance at me saying this. I actually second guessed this because it sounded different, but it is indeed the same song (but it sounds really slow and cool in the Watchmen trailer).

[Vampiro69 0]

Batman 3: Shittier

Batman 3: The Musical

 

Only if the musical is in the vein as the Batman Beyond epsidode.

 

[DarKnight 0]

Were the Shumacher ones supposed to be in continuity with the Burton ones? I never got that.

If so, then Harvey Dent going from Billy Dee Williams to Tommy Lee Jones is pretty wierd.

 

There in continuity. Its just that they seem so different from each other that you would think they were a reboot, but they all have the same guy as Alfred, and the same guy as Gordon. They're pretty much the only ones who tie the series together though. Oh, and its not like Harvey Dent, the character, went from being black to white, your just supposed to accept its a different actor. I think its more weird that Dent is absent entirely from the 2nd movie, and he shows up as Two-Face in the 3rd with no explanation.

[NYU 0]

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[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

The lack of Dent in Returns is due to the ongoing conflict of Burton doing these movies from what I've read. Burton doesn't see the point in keeping certain traditions. Apparently no one realized Dent would turn into Two-Face (except for Billy Dee) in the making of the first movie. I've read a few times that Shreck was originally supposed to be Dent, leading to a transformation to Two-Face, but as the studio started learning about their characters, the plan was changed to create Shreck.

[cabbageboy 0]

How could no one know that Dent would end up being Two Face? Collective brain fart? I'm pretty sure the Schumacher movies are in the same continuity as the Burton films, but really there's no particular connection so you can take it either way.

[Epic Reine 0]

Yea, Dent was supposed to be in Returns but Billy Dee walked out on a contract dispute so they made the Max Shreck character. I don't remember reading if he was supposed to turn into Two-Face by the end of the movie but I know they made Walken's character in light of him walking out.

 

And yes, if Burton stayed on for "Batman Forever", he would have gotten MARLON WAYANS to play Robin. Burton is a genius and a moron at the same time.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

Yea, Dent was supposed to be in Returns but Billy Dee walked out on a contract dispute so they made the Max Shreck character. I don't remember reading if he was supposed to turn into Two-Face by the end of the movie but I know they made Walken's character in light of him walking out.

 

And yes, if Burton stayed on for "Batman Forever", he would have gotten MARLON WAYANS to play Robin. Burton is a genius and a moron at the same time.

 

Oh yeah. Burton talked the studio out of Robin for the first Batman, but when they kept pushing for him, he was making Robin a street-wise young African-American mechanic. His costume was like a mechanic's jumpsuit with an R on it. Wayans actually got paid for both Returns (which they cut due to time) and Forever.

 

I like reading all about the casting decisions too. Like how Bale was in the running for Robin and the final two came down to Chris O'Donnell and Leonardo DiCaprio. They asked kids at like a Comic Con type event who would win in a fight and that is what had them settle on O'Donnell.

 

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Yea, Dent was supposed to be in Returns but Billy Dee walked out on a contract dispute so they made the Max Shreck character. I don't remember reading if he was supposed to turn into Two-Face by the end of the movie but I know they made Walken's character in light of him walking out.

 

And yes, if Burton stayed on for "Batman Forever", he would have gotten MARLON WAYANS to play Robin. Burton is a genius and a moron at the same time.

 

Oh yeah. Burton talked the studio out of Robin for the first Batman, but when they kept pushing for him, he was making Robin a street-wise young African-American mechanic. His costume was like a mechanic's jumpsuit with an R on it. Wayans actually got paid for both Returns (which they cut due to time) and Forever.

 

I like reading all about the casting decisions too. Like how Bale was in the running for Robin and the final two came down to Chris O'Donnell and Leonardo DiCaprio. They asked kids at like a Comic Con type event who would win in a fight and that is what had them settle on O'Donnell.

That would have been great had Bale won the Robin role...then took over as Batman in the new movies.

 

The sidekick actually fufilling the goal of taking over for the hero.

 

...so to speak.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Might as well mention this here, I got a helpful e-mail from Amazon noting that just about all of the DCAU box sets are on sale. The Batman sets are $17.99 or so which is great because in stores here, I always see them for $45+, so this was a good time to get the last two volumes I was missing.

[DarKnight 0]

Tim Burton got lucky with the first Batman movie, because the studio didn't give him full control over everything. However, I think once he got full control over Returns, it sucked. I mean, Marlon Wayans as Robin? WTF? I'm glad that never happened, though a part of me is kinda interested in seeing that.

[Anakin Flair 0]

Anybody know where I can get the Batman: The Complete Anthology boxed set that came out a few years ago for cheap? Everywhere I look, it either isn't carried anymore, or people are charging nearly double what it is worth.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I didn't realize that set was apparently OOP and hard to find (noticed people selling it for $115 and up on Amazon). Crazy.

[Nightwing 0]

Yea, Dent was supposed to be in Returns but Billy Dee walked out on a contract dispute so they made the Max Shreck character. I don't remember reading if he was supposed to turn into Two-Face by the end of the movie but I know they made Walken's character in light of him walking out.

 

And yes, if Burton stayed on for "Batman Forever", he would have gotten MARLON WAYANS to play Robin. Burton is a genius and a moron at the same time.

 

Oh yeah. Burton talked the studio out of Robin for the first Batman, but when they kept pushing for him, he was making Robin a street-wise young African-American mechanic. His costume was like a mechanic's jumpsuit with an R on it. Wayans actually got paid for both Returns (which they cut due to time) and Forever.

 

I like reading all about the casting decisions too. Like how Bale was in the running for Robin and the final two came down to Chris O'Donnell and Leonardo DiCaprio. They asked kids at like a Comic Con type event who would win in a fight and that is what had them settle on O'Donnell.

 

Anthony Hopkins, Patrick Stewart, and Ben Kingsley were all considered for the role of Mr. Freeze, though ultimately Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast because Joel Schumacher decided that Mr. Freeze must be "big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier".[7] Sylvester Stallone and Hulk Hogan were considered for the role of Mr. Freeze if Arnold Schwarzenegger had not wanted to play the character.[9]

 

Gotta love the slight switch in direction.

[Dandy 0]

Two guys that have been knighted, and a third who is also well-trained in theater and acting...to Ahnold or The Hulkster. Wow. I had forgotten about this.

[King Kamala 0]

I remember reading on wikipedia once that some point on one of the failed Batman projects between Batman and Robin and Batman Begins that Bret Hart was considered for the role of Batman. I'm 99.999998% sure this is wikipedia bullshit but the thought of Bret Hart as Batman (and especially the thought of him as suave, debonair playboy Bruce Wayne) makes me giggle.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

Kurt Russell was also considered for Batman in Batman Forever, which sounds like it could have been interesting.

 

[2GOLD 0]

 

Truthfully Arnold wasn't too bad when he was acting serious. He was actually pretty decent when it was just him talking about his wife. Arnold MAY have been able to pull off Mr. Freeze but the script was full of catchphrases, puns and just overall was a disaster.

 

Plus really, does anyone really like the thought of Anthony Hopkins saying "CHILL OUT!" while a bunch of rollerbladers and snowboarders are dancing around him? I mean, unless you are looking for the perfect "what the hell am I watching?" feeling.

[ZGangsta 0]

Oh yeah, Anthony Hopkins doing the same script that Arnold did would have been fucked up beyond belief.

[King Kamala 0]

You can't place a whole lot of blame on Arnold. Sure, he was woefully miscast but they didn't give him anything to work with. His dialogue in that movie was horrible and it wouldn't have sounded much better coming from Anthony Hopkins or Patrick Stewart.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Arnold was the most entertaining thing about that movie.

[RedJed 0]

Yea, Dent was supposed to be in Returns but Billy Dee walked out on a contract dispute so they made the Max Shreck character. I don't remember reading if he was supposed to turn into Two-Face by the end of the movie but I know they made Walken's character in light of him walking out.

 

And yes, if Burton stayed on for "Batman Forever", he would have gotten MARLON WAYANS to play Robin. Burton is a genius and a moron at the same time.

 

Actually, the only dispute with that contract was that Burton, and then Schumacher, didn't want Billy Dee Williams to play Dent in subsequent films after the first Batman, which really didn't impress anyone. Williams, though, had an "exclusivity" contract of sorts with the Harvey Dent character, in that if/when Dent was in future films, he would be the one playing the role. So in Returns, the character was supposed to be in there, but Burton just didn't see Williams fit as Dent again, but they were in a stand-still becuase of the contract exclusivity of the character. I pulled this from IMDB which explains the situation more....

 

# The character of Max Shreck was a re-write of District Attorney Harvey Dent; accordingly, most of his plot points would have perhaps made more sense if Shreck were D.A. instead of a corrupt businessman. The explosion at the end of the film was a means to injure Dent and produce the scars that would lead to his transformation into Two-Face for the third movie in the series. Reportedly, Billy Dee Williams took the role of Harvey Dent in the first Batman (1989) movie because he knew that the character would eventually become Two-Face. Williams' contract to appear in the sequel is rumored to have been bought out by Warner Bros. at a heavy price.

[AmericanDragon 0]

Batman and Robin > Batman 89

 

 

I'm serious. Tim Burton sucks.

[RedJed 0]

Batman and Robin > Batman 89

 

 

I'm serious. Tim Burton sucks.

 

The original Batman was actually really good by my book. Batman Returns though, Burton deserves to be dug on a bit for that shit.

[Anakin Flair 0]

What's the hate for Batman Returns? It was always one of my favorite Batman movies.

[DarKnight 0]

The original Batman was actually really good by my book. Batman Returns though, Burton deserves to be dug on a bit for that shit.

 

Thats why I think Burton got lucky. The first one out of the original 4 movies seemed the most like a Batman movie since no one was given full creative control, and Jack carried the movie. Returns however, went competely overboard with Burton's style, and not many people liked it. I too think Arnold is the only interesting thing to watch in Batman and Robin. The midsection of the movie when he's captured is just dreadful. His performance as Freeze could at least make you watch it multiple times just to get a good laugh from his bad ice jokes.

[LaParkaMarka 0]

What I liked most about The Watchmen trailer before TDK was immediately recognizing the Smashing Pumpkins song was already used in the Batman & Robin soundtrack, much to people's annoyance at me saying this. I actually second guessed this because it sounded different, but it is indeed the same song (but it sounds really slow and cool in the Watchmen trailer).

 

Except it wasn't. The Pumpkins made two versions of that song: "The End is the Beginning is the End", and "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning". They're similar but not the same. The first one was used in Batman, the second in the Watchmen trailer.