Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Batman 3 - The Dark Knight Rises

7/21/11 - New trailer just released! http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/

6/16/11 - Liam Neeson was spotted on Monday filming a scene for The Dark Knight Rises.  Neeson played villain Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins.  Warner Bros. declined to comment on the report.  The report is quick to point out that the potential inclusion of Ra’s al Ghul could imply a flashback sequence, but given the casting of Josh Pence as a young version of the character and al Ghul's affinity for resurrections in the comics, there's certainly reason to believe Neeson's version of the character could make an appearance.

5/24/11 - Variety reported that Brett Cullen and Chris Ellis will join The Dark Knight Rises.Cullen will play a judge, while Ellis will play a priest.  Duo joins Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Daniel Sunjata, Diego Klattenhoff and Burn Gorman as newcomers to the superhero franchise.

4/19/11 - Marion Cotillard will serve on the board of Wayne Enterprises, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is joining the Gotham City police force, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Warner Bros. says the two actors have been added to the cast of the final chapter in the "Dark Knight" trilogy.  Director Christopher Nolan previously worked with Cotillard and Gordon-Levitt in Inception.

4/8/11 - Josh Pence has been cast as a young Ra's Al Ghul in Dark Knight Rises, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The movie's casting has been ultra-secret, although Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are returning to lead a caped crusading cast, which includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cottilard.  The story line has also been kept locked but Pence's casting throws more than a few crumbs to follow. Ra's Al Ghul was played by Liam Neeson in "Batman Begins," thus paving the way for a possible return of the supposedly dead character.  Also, while the studio never confirmed Cottilard's character, it has been rumored to be that of Thalia Al Ghul, the daughter of Batman's mentor-turned-enemy.  Sources say Pence will appear in scenes that take place 30 years prior to the present story.

1/19/11 - Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. announced.  "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story," Nolan said.  However, it is still unknown whether or not Anne's character will indeed fully become Catwoman in this incarnation of the franchise, as there was no mention of "Catwoman" in the studio's statement. It seems likely that Nolan will explore Selina's backstory, as he did with Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight".  Warner Bros. also announced that Tom Hardy will play the villain Bane, who is best known in the comic books for cracking Batman's back and forcing him to end up in a wheelchair.  The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20, 2012.

1/5/11 - Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Comics will not bring Batman and Superman into a shared film like Marvel.  Producer Charles Roven, who is part of the producing team behind all of Christopher Nolan's Batman films and the upcoming Superman reboot, said no.  Asked by Shock Till You Drop if the new Superman (due out winter 2012) and The Dark Knight Rises (due out summer 2012) could conceivably exist in the same reality, Roven said, "That may be in somebody's mind but right now the Batman lives in his world and the Superman lives in his world. Those stories are those stories and we haven't thought beyond each individual picture."  That also makes it unlikely that either film will cross-reference with this summer's Green Lantern or the Flash movie that's also in development.

11/23/10 - Christian Bale is committed to donning the black cape one more time as Batman in the next installment of the franchise, Access Hollywood reported.  "Absolutely!" Christian said, when asked if he was preparing to film the next Batman movie. "I'm assuming it's going to be the last one, so I'm very excited about it."  When it comes to who may step in as the caped crusader's next on-screen nemesis or lovely leading lady, Christian said that knowledge is still on a need-to-know basis - and this is one detail he still doesn't know.  "Chris will let me know what I need to know when I need to know it," he said. "This is our fourth movie together. He knows me - I'll know when I need to.”

10/27/10 - The next Batman sequel will be titled The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. confirmed.  The film is due in theaters July 20, 2012.  Christopher Nolan is not planning to shoot the film in 3-D.  Nolan would not reveal what villain might appear, but he said it would not be the Riddler.  Earlier this year, Nolan said he would not resurrect the Joker either.

9/29/10 – Blastr.com reported that Christopher Nolan will be back to direct Batman 3.  “It's becoming inevitable, I'll put it that way. I feel myself falling into it, I guess. And getting it all figured out and I'm pretty excited about what we're doing, so ... If I haven't announced it, I think that people probably all know at this point that I'm doing it."  When asked if we could take that to mean he's officially, really, truly directing the thing, Nolan replied, "I think you can at this point, yes."  The director also confirmed that he is currently working on his own draft of the script, which has been written by his brother Jonathan.

7/9/10 - Director Christopher Nolan confirmed to MTV News last week that the third Batman film will hit theaters in July 2012, but he wasn't as certain about when filming would begin on the much-anticipated project. However, actor Michael Caine, who played Bruce Wayne's butler and trusted friend in each of the films, believes filming will begin in April.  It seems that Batman and Christopher Nolan may in fact reunite in the first quarter of 2011.

4/30/10 - Warner Bros. scheduled July 20, 2012, as the release date for the next installment of the Batman film franchise.  Director Christopher Nolan brought the Caped Crusader back to the big screen in 2005's "Batman Begins" and 2008's "The Dark Knight," which earned over $1 billion worldwide and garnered Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker.  No other details about the film were announced.

2/9/10 - According to Deadline Hollywood, news that David Goyer had left ABC's FlashForward fueled speculation that he is turning his attention to a third Batman movie.  It is confirmed that Nolan's brother and frequent collaborator Jonah Nolan and David Goyer who co-wrote Batman Begins and penned the story for The Dark Knight, are off scripting a third film.

4/29/09 - Christian Bale discussed Heath Ledger's Oscar win and the future of the Batman franchise with the editors of Total Film magazine.  "Will we do a third movie?" said Bale. "It's got to be the right story. You can't make something like The Dark Knight and then come out with something disappointing.  "I would like it if people say, 'You'll never make a good third movie.' I say, 'OK, let's make a third movie in that case, let's prove them wrong.' But that's just me. The fact is, I have to! I've signed up!"

1/12/09 – SCIFI Wire reported that Rhona Mitra wouldn't say no if asked to accept a part as Catwoman in the next Batman sequel.  While any plans for a third Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie are currently in the early stages, speculative rumors as to who the villain might be and who would play the part have ranged from Johnny Depp as the Riddler to Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin. Mitra's name was recently circulated as a potential choice for Batman's feline nemesis/love interest Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman).  Mitra said, "I thought that Batman Begins was, far and away as far as I'm concerned, the best Batman ever. I thought it was very true to the comic books, and I think Christopher Nolan is just a genius."  When asked what her reaction might be if she were approached by Nolan, Mitra's response was less than subtle: "Are you kidding me? I would be over the moon to be involved in something like that. I don't know who wouldn't. I just can't imagine me being a reality. Would I accept? Of course!"

10/20/08 - SCI FI Wire reported that Charles Roven, producer of the megahit The Dark Knight, downplayed any rumors about an expected third Batman movie.  Gary Oldman--who won a Scream Award for best supporting actor for his role as James Gordon and accepted posthumous awards for star Heath Ledger for best actor and best villain--said that he'd heard nothing about the sequel. "There's no rumor," he said. "I haven't heard a thing [about a third movie]. I've heard the stuff being thrown around online, but nothing from official sources."

8/15/08 - By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY:  With The Dark Knight's mega-blockbuster success, Batman had better be hunting for some mighty foes.  Dark Knight director Chris Nolan has not committed to another sequel, but Warner Bros. says it's eager to get started. And the key to Dark Knight's record-breaking box office is clearly its villain: Heath Ledger's Joker.  Fans are speculating about whom the Caped Crusader should face next time. Most agree it's time to get some formidable women in the mix.  "If the franchise could use anything, it's a little sexual tension," says Jim Littler of ComicBookMovie.com. "Catwoman is a pretty iconic character, and her relationship with Batman is complicated, the kind of thing Chris Nolan could handle well."  And there are plenty more to choose from:

•The Riddler. An iconic villain played to campy excess by Frank Gorshin and Jim Carrey. It's possible Nolan could bring fame back to Edward Nigma. "Audiences give Nolan the benefit of the doubt," says Blair Butler of G4TV. "He made Two-Face a serious criminal again. Why not Riddler?"

•Deadshot. An assassin, Deadshot favors silent, wrist-mounted guns. He came to Gotham City as a crime fighter but was exposed as a villain.

•Ventriloquist and Scarface. Meek ventriloquist Arnold Wesker begins to take orders from his dummy, Scarface, to murder his enemies. "It's a very creepy scenario, and Chris would have to walk that line carefully," says Garth Franklin of the movie fan site Dark Horizons. "After all, it's a guy running around with a doll."

•Black Mask. Roman Sionis was heir to a cosmetics empire when his face was peeled off by a chemical mishap. Sionis wreaks havoc behind a ghoulish mask carved from his father's coffin.

•Hugo Strange. Strange is a scientist who invented a dense fog he uses to target crime scenes, creating a protective cloak for himself and his thugs. It may be too similar to the toxin The Scarecrow used in Batman Begins, some say.

There are a few villains who likely won't find life in Nolan's Gotham City, including The Penguin and Mr. Freeze, played earlier by Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  "You really can't have too fanciful a villain in Chris Nolan's universe," says Rob Worley of Comics2Film.com. "Anything too science-fiction-y isn't going to fit in his hard-core take of Batman. He likes something that's going to fit in the real world."  Like Robin?  "No," Butler says emphatically. "When he entered the picture, it was the death knell for the franchise (of the mid-'90s). There are just too many negative connotations for Batman running around with a younger man in a leotard."

8/6/08 - As the Internet rumor mill heats up about a possible foe for the next Batman film, writer David S. Goyer (who got a story credit for The Dark Knight) told SCI FI Wire that it's possible the villain may not even be one you've ever heard of.  "There's no reason why we necessarily have to use the same three or four that are still around," Goyer said in an interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego last month. "I mean, Batman's got a wide variety, [a] rogues' gallery. Certainly we used two in the first movie that hadn't been in the films before."  Goyer, who wrote the script for Batman Begins with director Christopher Nolan, was referring to Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy).  The Dark Knight, written by Nolan and his brother, Jonathan Nolan, features Batman's most famous enemy, the Joker (played memorably by the late Heath Ledger), and a second well-known nemesis, Harvey Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart).  And Goyer's comments come as Web sites speculate on which well-known villain (The Riddler? The Penguin? Catwoman?) and which actor (Johnny Depp? Philip Seymour Hoffman? Angelina Jolie?) would play him/her in an inevitable third film in the most recent incarnation of the Batman saga.  But there are plenty of others: Villains that Batman has faced in the DC Comics alone include such familiar and obscure names as Anarky, Bane, Batzarro, Black Mask, Blockbuster, Calendar Man, Catman, Clayface, Cluemaster, Deadshot, Firefly, Hush, Killer Croc, Killer Moth, the Mad Hatter, Man-Bat, Maxie Zeus, Mr. Freeze, Mr. Zsasz, Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Ventriloquist and Scarface, according to Wikipedia.  No decision has been made yet on whether to move forward with a third Batman movie, though it's likely one will come together eventually. "It's really up to Chris to decide, and he has not decided whether or not he wants to go back to the well again," Goyer said. "And if he does, I, you know, would be honored to work with him." --Patrick Lee, News Editor

7/2/08 - Christopher Nolan, the writer/director of the upcoming sequel film The Dark Knight, said recently that he hasn't begun to think about doing a third installment.  Nolan said: "The film to me is not actually finished until the audience sees it and tells me what it is, really. So it's too early to say for all those kind of reasons. The other thing to be said on the subject is we absolutely did not feel in taking on the idea of doing the second film that we could in any way hamper ourselves or disadvantage ourselves by saving things for another film. ... I think that's a mistake people have made in the past, thinking too much of the future. I think you have to put all your eggs into one basket and make as great a film as you can, and that's what we've tried to do."

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