If there were a way to more stringently suggest that this is a rumor beyond just saying so and going so far as placing the word “rumor” in the headline, we would use it for this particular rumor. It is the mother of all rumors; the one ring of rumors, created by Sauron to rule other rumors – but then in reality it turns out Sauron is just a troll that likes messing with people online. It is a rumor from unnamed sources, reported by a group with a 50/50 track record on major scoops that sometimes gets it exactly right, while other times coming up with stories that would make a British tabloid shake its collective heads. So why are we bothering to report this particular rumor? Two reasons: First, it makes sense. The argument is logical, and even if it doesn’t happen, there is every reason to think that the people in power would at least like to try to make it happen. Secondly, because it would be so freaking cool.
Latino Review is back with a purported scoop once again, this time bringing us news from sources within Warner Bros. who claim the reigns of the DC Universe and all the film possibilities that go with it have been handed over to Christopher Nolan to oversee – much as he is currently doing with Man of Steel. This may or may not be true, but it would make a lot of sense.
Warner knows that it has a potential gold mine on its hands with the DC films – you need look no further than Marvel Studios under Disney’s banner, which has found enough success to give Mickey a platinum grill a few thousand times over. More importantly though, Disney and Marvel set up a universe, and as that universe grows in popularity, each new film introduced goes to the Big Screen with a good chance of success ingrained in it. DC does not have that luxury in its films.
Nolan not only turned in three successful Batman films, he made two films that each cleared $1 billion. He also made superhero films that won Oscars. Handing the keys over to Nolan would be a no-brainer – assuming he wants them, that is. There is no question that someone, somewhere within Warner at least approached Nolan with this possibility. Whether or not he accepted is where the first part of the “rumor” comes in.
The second part of the rumor suggests that Nolan wants Christian Bale to return as Batman for a Justice League film and star alongside Henry Cavill’s Superman. If that happens, the Justice League could then be the jumping off point for solo films starring the other Justice League members. Again, while this is a rumor – albeit an awesome one – it does make sense. Bale has said that while he felt like The Dark Knight Rises was the final Batman film in that story, he wasn’t necessarily opposed to reprising the role, so long as Nolan was involved. If Marvel is willing to pay Robert Downey Jr. both a multi-million dollar salary as well as a percentage of the profits, potentially amounting to hundreds of millions over multiple films, Warner surely wouldn’t balk at shelling out the cash to convince Bale to don the cowl once again.
Again though, this is all still a rumor. And even if it were confirmed, Nolan is notoriously tight on security. If he is in charge of DC, expect to hear less news, not more. All that being said, it would make sense for Warner Bros. to reach out to Nolan and Bale in the hopes of hitting a homerun while and build a Justice League film that can spawn its own spinoffs, rather than approach it the other way around as Marvel did. Otherwise, DC may need to go back to the drawing board with all of its movie franchises.
And, of course, the other reason for reporting this rumor is that it would be very, very cool if it happened. Even a World’s Finest film starring just Superman and Batman would be huge if it starred Cavill and Bales. Not only would it bring Bale back to the role, but it would create a dichotomy between Batman and Superman where Batman actually had several years of experience on Superman, which could lead to some fun tension. Still, this all feels like a a bit of wishful thinking, and a lot of it will depend on how Man of Steel does this summer.
