In the same interview in which the LA Times spoke to Warner Bros. executive Jeff Robinov about the future of a Justice League movie, there was also a bit of talk about the future of the Batman franchise beyond Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, due out next year.
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. Batman will continue to be a centerpiece property beyond next year’s “The Dark Knight Rises” and Nolan’s departure from the franchise. “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.”
I can only assume that “reinventing” means something close to “rebooting”, which I doubt comes as a surprise to anyone out there. Nolan has always stated he’s telling a story that will span 3 films, and then be done with the Batman universe – at least as far as directing goes. It is interesting that he and his wife will continue to be involed in producer roles however.
I would rather have Nolan tell his story, and then pass the torch. We all saw what happens when multiple directors and a studio try to take a continuous Batman franshise beyond what it should have gone. While it’s nice that Nolan will stick around as a producer, it will be exciting to see another director take the reigns and put his own vision into a new Batman story arc. My only hope is that it’s not a “full reboot” in that we have to sit through Batman’s origin story . . . again.