*SPOILERS* The Dark Knight *SPOILERS*

[Skummy]

Yeah, Nolan has stated that while he's directing, there'll be no Robin, as Dick Grayson is basically in short pants at this point. It's basically revisiting Year One anyway, and IIRC Robin wasn't introduced until way after even Year Two and Year Three, continuity-speaking.

Poison Ivy needs to make an appearance at some point, but I could live my life without seeing the Penguin again.

Well then you'll be happy to know Nolan announced a while back Penguin won't make an appearance as he is not an 'unrealistic character' for the types of film he and Bale are making.

Really? Wasn't there a rumour going round that Philip Seymour Hoffman would be playing Penguin or something?

[Benji]

Yeah, Nolan has stated that while he's directing, there'll be no Robin, as Dick Grayson is basically in short pants at this point. It's basically revisiting Year One anyway, and IIRC Robin wasn't introduced until way after even Year Two and Year Three, continuity-speaking.

Poison Ivy needs to make an appearance at some point, but I could live my life without seeing the Penguin again.

Well then you'll be happy to know Nolan announced a while back Penguin won't make an appearance as he is not an 'unrealistic character' for the types of film he and Bale are making.

Really? Wasn't there a rumour going round that Philip Seymour Hoffman would be playing Penguin or something?

That was about when Nolan made that announcement, when that rumour was doing the rounds.

[Skummy]

Ah, right, I must have missed that one. As much as I would have liked Hoffman as Penguin, I do agree that there's no way Penguin could feasibly fit into this Batman "universe" without some major tweaking of his character, by which point there'd be little reason for him to be "The Penguin" anyway. That said, he could work as the kind of criminal informant character he's portrayed as at times.

Personally, I could live without seeing Harley Quinn. If there's no Robin, there shouldn't be any Harley either, I reckon. I don't want to see Catwoman, because it's too soon after a phenomenally dire Catwoman movie to attempt to salvage her character; any slight mistake would be leapt on by the critics. Couldn't give a toss about Poison Ivy, she's another camp gimmicky villain...I'd sooner see Mr. Freeze than her. And The Riddler...eh...I've always found him pretty much superfluous to Joker.

I'd be happy if they just kept it to Joker/Two-Face/looming presence of Scarecrow, and allude to other characters by name every now and then, kind of like Dr. Connors appearing in the Spiderman films, or the names of other mutants appearing in the X-Men movies. Give the illusion of a larger universe that the film is taking place in, without cluttering it and reducing the importance of the main villains.

Edited August 7, 2007 by Skummy Guðmundsdóttir

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Harley Quinn would be greatness but only as a massively background psychiatrist character as mentioned earlier in the thread. Would just be a nice moment for a fanboy pop from some of the watching audiences.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Once they've done Joker, and then Two-Face in the next film, I personally wouldn't mind seeing The Riddler. As long as he's paired with a physical threat (Clayface, for example) he's decent, Jim Carrey's portrayal was the drizzling shits and totally anathema to the character. Riddler gets a bad rep, but he's in the top 10 as far as the rogues' gallery goes.

Hell, if they play it right, I'd even be okay with them bringing Poison Ivy in, as she's always knocking about in most of the major arcs, bewitching people and the like.

And anybody who doubts the importance of Catwoman is clearly... uh, yeah. She's massively important, I can see them shying away from her based on the terrible movie, but I hope they don't. Selina > *

[Benji]

I'm not completely sure whether the characters 'with powers' will be included in this series, since he's doing a realistic take, some characters will have to take a dive, like those with super powers IMO. I love the idea that Batman has essentially caused a gang war, it's a used concept but it's a fucking good one and should translate great into film.

[Captain Eo]

I'm not completely sure whether the characters 'with powers' will be included in this series, since he's doing a realistic take, some characters will have to take a dive, like those with super powers IMO. I love the idea that Batman has essentially caused a gang war, it's a used concept but it's a fucking good one and should translate great into film.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Ultimate Marvel is utter cock, and we'll not speak of it again in a DC franchise thread.

They're superpowers, who gets them in a 'realistic' way anyway? They'll probably stick with people like The Joker, Two-Face and such who are at least more gritty and realistic, as well as being much darker, for the next two films. After that, they may have a new director, who is maybe more willing to play ball on some of the more OTT elements, but for now I doubt they'll do anything like that.

If you take out people with remotely 'super' abilities, you're looking at Catwoman, The Riddler, The Penguin, and maybe Harley Quinn also. That'd be enough to carry another film or two, especially if they play The Riddler right as he's fucking decent when done properly. Harley would obviously require another Joker plot, and fuck knows there're enough Joker stories knocking about for it to maybe be viable.

Still, I can't be alone in demanding more Poison Ivy.

[Gabriel]

I demand a better Bane in this franchise. I demand it!

[ClaRK! Kent]

Damn right. Maybe they can do a semi-Knightfall thing and have Bane injure Batman, and maybe use that as an in for Robin, who Batman then takes under his wing, or whatever. They can't go the full Knightfall shebang with it, but they can use elements.

"I WILL BREAK YOU!"

*crack*

Best. 'Villain-Arrives-On-The-Scene.' Ever.

[The Punisher]

Wizard World Report:

Minutes ago, the capacity crowd at Wizard World Chicago was treated to the first look at "The Dark Knight" the much anticipated sequel to fan favorite "Batman Begins." With actors Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart on hand along with Nolan and screenwriters Jonah Nolan and David Goyer, DC Publisher Paul Levitz led the crowd through a spirited and secretive Q&A before getting to a sneak peek at the Dark Knight's most recent on-screen battle with his arch nemesis, The Joker.

Fans were only allowed to see it once, and while it might be some time before the footage will be released to theaters across America, Wizard Universe was on hand to witness the action and give a full report.

Spoiler: Click here to view

The footage started with a silhouette of a dark figure in front of one of Batman’s armored vehicles before quickly cutting to Bruce Wayne and Alfred delivering the brief lines heard in the "Dark Knight" teaser trailer.

"Some people just want to watch the world burn," advises Alfred before the camera jumps to Batman in action on the Batpod, the new iteration of his motorcycle.

The action built up as the Joker was seen in full for the first time with a mess of white face, smeared red lipstick and sweaty, straggly green hair. Apparently, the clown prince of crime gets arrested at one point in the film, as the montage presented Jim Gordon (complete in SWAT gear) at the Joker’s booking, saying, "no prints, no ID, custom clothes, no tags." The clown smiles with what appears to be blood over his face from the inside of an interrogation room.

Checking back in with Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy has a brief scene with Eckhart's Harvey Dent where he says "Rachel's told me everything about you."

"I truly hope not," responds Wayne.

The footage sped up at that point into an intense montage of action, featuring the following clips:

- The new batsuit rising up from a trap door in the ground and held in a chain metal case.

- Rachel Dawes (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) close to an unidentified man either kissing him or being threatened by him as the camera rotates around them.

- A struggling Rachel Dawes being forced to dance with The Joker.

- The Joker and Batman battling in close quarters (possibly a hospital room). Batman throws Joker over a table and crashing into the ground while the clown smiles at him. It should be noted that the Joker was done up in his signature purple suit.

- Plenty of big, bold Batmobile action including a shot where the tank-like car drives through a wall of flame. In fact, flames were pretty much everywhere in the footage as it appears Joker does actually make the world burn.

- There is also a shot of a somewhat grim-faced Joker walking across a city street mercilessly firing a machine gun as well as a television close-up of the Joker laughing hysterically.

- Two major additions to the speculation that Two Face will appear in the film came in the form of a single shot of a spinning 50 cent piece and the final image: after the action montage has slowed down, the camera cuts to a bartender looking at Harvey Dent, whose only onscreen presence is his left shoulder and a bit of a reddish-purple scarred neck. "Dent! I thought you were dead!" the man gasps, to which Harvey replies, "Half."

Notes from the event.

-Eckhart had the crowd in a ruckus apparently when he covered half his face with one hand as he entered the panel room.

-Goyer got the card put in at the end of Begins as a hook, Nolan was somewhat against it.

-Everybody in the panel had rave reviews for Ledger as The Joker. Oldman was quoted that "He came up with his own distinctive style for the film."

-The Two-Face make-up is being kept under wraps. Nolan and company want people to be shocked at the make-up

-No word on Anthony Michael Hall's role, they are keeping is very confidential.

-Security wasn't as tight as rumored. Numerous people got away with cell phones recording the footage. They did have people with night-vision goggles during the footage to make sure nobody was recording.

-Eckhart stayed for twenty minutes after the panel and signed autographs, DVD's.

-New viral site will be up in September, no word on what it will be.

Edited August 12, 2007 by The Punisher

[GoGo Yubari]

So the moral of this story is that Aaron Eckhart is awesome.

EDIT: That is totally a moral shut up.

Edited August 12, 2007 by GoGo Yubari

[Mysterio2000X]

Spoiler: Click here to view

- There is also a shot of a somewhat grim-faced Joker walking across a city street mercilessly firing a machine gun as well as a television close-up of the Joker laughing hysterically.

Edited August 13, 2007 by Mysterio2000X

[GoGo Yubari]

SOLD!

... so whilst I personally had already read it, that might have been in a spoiler tag for a reason, you know?

[Captain Eo]

Ultimate Marvel is utter cock, and we'll not speak of it again in a DC franchise thread.

They're superpowers, who gets them in a 'realistic' way anyway? They'll probably stick with people like The Joker, Two-Face and such who are at least more gritty and realistic, as well as being much darker, for the next two films. After that, they may have a new director, who is maybe more willing to play ball on some of the more OTT elements, but for now I doubt they'll do anything like that.

If you take out people with remotely 'super' abilities, you're looking at Catwoman, The Riddler, The Penguin, and maybe Harley Quinn also. That'd be enough to carry another film or two, especially if they play The Riddler right as he's fucking decent when done properly. Harley would obviously require another Joker plot, and fuck knows there're enough Joker stories knocking about for it to maybe be viable.

Still, I can't be alone in demanding more Poison Ivy.

Edited August 12, 2007 by seriouseffect

[ClaRK! Kent]

Spoiler: Click here to view

He gets scarred in this film, almost certainly by Joker.

And if you don't see how Ivy can be a threat to Batman, you've certainly not been reading the right comics.

[Captain Eo]

Spoiler: Click here to view

He gets scarred in this film, almost certainly by Joker.

And if you don't see how Ivy can be a threat to Batman, you've certainly not been reading the right comics.

[Mysterio2000X]

SOLD!

... so whilst I personally had already read it, that might have been in a spoiler tag for a reason, you know?

Edited August 13, 2007 by Mysterio2000X

[Hewey]

Spoiler: Click here to view

I don't know if it's a spoiler or not, but wasn't Edward Nigma suppose to make appearance in this movie? Also, kind of disappointed that we'll get Two Face in this one. I liked the idea of the next one having The Joker scar him during the trial.

I didn't mean it like she was never a threat. I meant that if they were to put her into a film I don't think they would give her a full blown about main villian role.

[Captain Eo]

Spoiler: Click here to view

I don't know if it's a spoiler or not, but wasn't Edward Nigma suppose to make appearance in this movie? Also, kind of disappointed that we'll get Two Face in this one. I liked the idea of the next one having The Joker scar him during the trial.

I didn't mean it like she was never a threat. I meant that if they were to put her into a film I don't think they would give her a full blown about main villian role.

I agree. I couldn't see them doing a movie with her being the main villian. Maybe something with her and someone like Two Face?

Edited August 13, 2007 by seriouseffect