I feel like Joker movie captured the feel of Gotham. Batman and the whole Batman/Gotham mythos should be dark and gritty as possible. The Batman trailer just gave me the same vibes as Joker did and I’m here for that 100%.
Joker was a ripoff of 2 Scorsese movies
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They’d probably go for a R if its what Reeves envisions. WB clearly has a lot of faith in him; they did greenlight a trilogy after all. If not this film maybe the next? The second film is usually the darkest.
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They green lit a trilogy which is probably going to be really cool. Not to mention an HBO max series set in the same universe. Hopefully there’s going to be lots of opportunity for potential crossover between the TV show and the movies, like marvel used to do with agents of shield.
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Regarding the TV show that’s in development, I am very hopeful that they use Gotham central as primary source material for the show. I think that’s what everyone wants. You also don’t go to a network like HBO to make a show that you could put elsewhere, so it’s going to maintain the same kind of tone.
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First I heard that they greenlit 2 more movies
Could there be? Of course. Does it need one? I’m more dubious about that. Deadpool was wildly successful, but a faithful adaptation of everything people loved about the character largely required an R-rating. Does there need to be an R-rating for this film; by which I mean, does it legitimately serve the interests of the story, or is it an attempt to chase an apparent fad?
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I wouldn’t call it chasing a fad, Batman has been around a hell of a lot longer than Deadpool. Based on the tone seen in the trailer and the murder mystery, gritty Gotham, detective story we’re getting I’d expect it. It seems they are going for a no holds barred dark, somewhat graphic, murder investigation detective story. I expect the theatrical release will be be a hard PG-13, but an R rated directors cut seems like an almost certainty.
The fad in question was R-rated superhero movies, not which character has been around longer, and I wasn’t saying no so much as asking if the story would actually benefit from an R-rating. I’m unconvinced.
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Perhaps I did not illustrate my point well. It’s not chasing a fad when you are using a character whose legacy it is not a reach to be telling a darker story. Batman is a darker superhero, particularly in a way that Superman and others are not. If they were trying to create a dark and gritty Superman movie (and I don’t call Batman vs Superman purely a Superman movie because Batman is featured heavily) that would be called chasing a fad because it’s a stretch, and not within his character. I wouldn’t be surprised if there have been plenty of directors who wanted to push the envelope with Batman, and studios were afraid to do it because PG-13 movies make more money, and families will not bring their kids to an R rated movie. Now that we have seen some R rated superhero genre movies being financially successful studios may be less afraid to let a director tell a story they would never have allowed 20 years ago.
For the studio it could be chasing a fad, but I don’t think it is for moviegoers or the people in charge of actually creating the film. This story may well have been a passion project for Matt Reeves for over a decade, and he was biding his time until he could be given the opportunity to tell the story and make the movie he wanted to.
Again, my sole concern is whether or not it serves the interests of the story for it to be R-rated. That depends on the story. Are they actually going to use the rating to tell the story, or is it just going to be an excuse for “adult content?” We won’t know the answer until we see the film. I don’t really feel specifically enthused about the idea of an R-rated movie or cut; I just want it to be worth watching.
Studios and producers have a long and storied history of chasing fads. When Deadpool came out and made ungodly amounts of money on a comparatively shoestring budget, I remember reading a comment by James Gunn that Hollywood producers were likely to walk out of this with the lesson that “R-rated superhero movies are popular now!” instead of “well-made films that put effort into faithfully adapting the things that made the source material popular went over well with fans.”
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Believe it or not I think we’re on the same page. With only 25% of the movie already shot we can’t really know for sure, but I think the tone of the film will serve the story well. I am excited to see a new interpretation of Batman and his villains. I think that will be the most interesting part, seeing villains we think we know in a way we have not seen before. A great villain and a fantastic performance can steal the entire movie. The fact they are intending to tie in the TV series and possibly tell a multi movie story arc is exciting to me.
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I disagree. One big, albeit destructive fight scene does not mean the tone of the entire film was dark. Overall, Man of Steel maintained a very optimistic and hopeful tone, which is the hallmark of Superman. Heck, The crest of the house of El means hope, a point they used to drive the crux of Clark’s character development.
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That would be cool! I’ve always thought Batman should be rated R.
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He came off as brooding for most of the movie to me
I wouldn’t say brooding, just more realistic. If you were an alien growing up on a foreign planet with extraordinary powers you couldn’t tell anyone about you might have a hard time dealing with it. Superman never was Mr. happy go lucky. Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan sought to make Superman into a real person instead of a comic strip character.
But a real person can still give others hope and be generally happy. Superman is traditionally a happy person. There are times when he gets serious or emotional. But he puts on a brave face for those he cares about. Zack Snyder couldn’t figure out a better storyline than the typical, “Superman: Will He Destroy Us?”
Another reason the shouldn’t go for an R Rating is because they need a younger fan base. They really do. Not a lot of people went to see BOP because it was a hard R comedy. Of course there are a few exceptions when a parent says, “Of course I’ll take you to see Joker. What kind of trauma could you possibly get from watching that movie?”
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There’s no “Superman: Will He Destroy Us” in BvS, except in Bruce’s warped mind and a future that has not yet come to pass in which Clark is brainwashed and used as a tool of domination.
If you focus on the meat of Clark’s actual character arc from his perspective, he’s devastated by unintended consequences of his actions, frustration at being misunderstood, demonized, deified, and most of all he’s frustrated at systemic apathy toward marginalized groups, which is clearly because he himself spent so much of his life on the margins, he knows what that’s like. That’s a great Superman! He just didn’t get as much screen time as he needed due to the choice to make Gone-Too-Far Bruce the primary viewpoint character. I don’t even think he’s that mopey of a figure honestly, it’s all situational. Before the moment Perry tells him “the American conscience died with Robert, Martin and John,” Clark is pretty upbeat.
Er, but I digress. Just can’t help myself when it’s time to defend BvS I guess, haha!
In terms of The Batman, if Reeves wants it to be R, I hope it is, and if he doesn’t, I hope it isn’t, but I think it can absolutely be a great film with a PG-13 rating.
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My brother came up with a good point. They aren’t going to make tons of money like a regular superhero movie if they go for an R-rating. They would be giving up on several audience types. They’d be giving up on young kids who’d want to watch it, and some people don’t like R movies. So they’d lose money there, even if it was the director’s vision for the movie.
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