The New 52's Batman and Robin may be heading to the big screen
No one in the Bat camp is talking at this point. And it's all conjecture until the powers that be reveal their secret plans for keeping the Batman franchise afloat. Today, however, we did get a hint at the direction Bruce Wayne's cinematic side may take after The Dark Knight Rises plays out at theaters.
Executive producer and Batman rights holder Michael E. Uslan, who took the rights in 1979 and has worked on both the 80s Batman series, as well as Christopher Nolan's trilogy, has released a great new book titled The Boy Who Loved Batman, which recounts his trials and tribulations in bringing a more serious comic book franchise to the big screen. We recently chatted with Michael about both his book and the upcoming movie. He was rather stoic when questions concerning the future of The Dark Knight arose, but he did drop a subtle hint that the next incarnation of Batman on the big screen may be based on DC Comics recently launched New 52 title Batman and Robin.
Here is what he had to say when asked what the future held for Batman on the big screen.
"The only thing I would direct your attention to is the new comic books. The comic books have kept this character vital, and intriguing, for seventy-two years. We are all still going back every Wednesday to see what's new. I think the character is that vital and that sustaining. He is going to be around for a long time to come."
The New 52's Batman and Robin finds Bruce Wayne teaming up with his son Damien, who takes over the mantel of Robin from Dick Grayson. The pair must fight a mysterious killer in an owl skull mask who turns out to have a vendetta against the entire Wayne family that dates back for centuries, and calls the soul of Gotham City into play. The first issue is on stands now, and Michael E. Uslan talked about the importance of a good, strong villain.
" The Stan Lee theory (is something) I adhere by thoroughly. Stan Lee says that heroes will only be popular and have longevity if their super villains are great. They are only as good as their super villains. It's only the villains that really define them at the end of the day. Batman, inarguably, has the greatest rogues gallery of supervillains ever created in comics. The comics have been coming out every Wednesday since 1939. The credit has to go to the creators. The Artists. The Writers. The Editors. The publishers. The people that have been bringing us Batman now for 72 years. They get us to come back every single week. They are keeping us intrigued. They are keeping us interested. The characters continue to evolve. We want to follow. We want to know what happens next. Is every storyline in 72 years great? No. But they really try. They try to innovate. They sometimes try gimmicks that work for a while, and don't work...But at the end of the day, there have been so many great stories about this great character, and the whole family of Batman characters, that I don't think its popularity is every going to diminish."
We also talked to Michael E. Uslan about the rumors of a new Batman TV series. He remained tightlipped, saying only this.
"The only thing I am looking forward to right now is July 20th, with The Dark Knight Rises in theaters, and October 18th of this year, with Batman: Year One, the animated movie, coming out direct to DVD and Blu-ray."
For more about The Dark Knight Rises and the future of the Batman franchise, be sure to read our entire interview with Michael E. Uslan coming soon.
The Dark Knight Rises comes to theaters July 20th, 2012 and stars Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan
