14 DAY TRIAL // Director Chris Nolan is now working on his third and last “Batman” film, “The Dark Knight Rises,” starring Christian Bale as the caped crusader. Fans shouldn’t despair, though, because it’s clear that Warner Bros. will not let the franchise simply die: it’s thinking of a reboot already.
Both Nolan and Bale have repeatedly stressed the need to bring the story to an end with the third film, and they intend not to stretch it more than it should.
Still, that doesn’t change the fact that Batman remains one of the most beloved comic book characters, so it makes sense for the movie studio to want him back even after Nolan is done with him.
It will, nevertheless, be an entirely different franchise, one may assume.
Hero Complex recently sat down with Warner Bros. executive Jeff Robinov, who revealed that, aside from working on a “Justice League” project, the studio is also thinking about what to do next, after “The Dark Knight Rises” comes out.
As it turns out, the very thought of dropping the Batman franchise altogether is a stranger to studio bosses.
The direction in which the franchise will go next is unknown but, whatever that may be, it will also include Chris Nolan – not as director but as producer.
“Robinov knows that the most bankable part of his superhero empire has been Nolan and his Gotham City films – the studio has yet to deliver a 21st century superhero blockbuster hit without Nolan in the director’s seat,” Hero Complex writes.
“Batman will continue to be a centerpiece property beyond next year’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and Nolan’s departure from the franchise,” says the magazine.
“We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman… Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is,” Robinov confirms for the movie-oriented publication.
Until more on this emerges in the media, fans should keep an eye out for details on the upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises,” with Bale, Marion Cotillard and Tom Hardy.