The Dark Corner:
The Dark Knight is returning......
After years of being absent from Television and Film, it appears that Batman may be ready to return in a big way. With the overwhelming success of Spiderman at the box office, there is no doubt that Warner Brothers is readying the Dark Knight (and other DC heroes) to counter attack Marvel's film juggernaut.
The idea of this theory is based on a conversation I had with fellow webmaster Fabio2. Fabio believed that Warner Brothers was getting ready to relaunch all of DC's main characters in a big way. Currently the studio has Batman: Year One film, Catwoman, Superman, Wonder Woman and World's Finest on their production plans. With Superman and Batman Warner Brothers is testing the waters with Smallville and the soon to be released Birds of Prey.
Smallville has been a ratings and critical success and has provided some background information on Superman. Many believe the show will be a perfect lead in to the new movie. The only downside to Smallville's success is that most of its viewers have little interest in Clark's alter ego. If that is the case, then Warner's will have to do some serious hyping to get the public interested in Superman again.
Interest in Batman is being tested with Birds of Prey. Originally I had mixed feelings about the show due to its mucking around with character history. However it appears that the script for the pilot has been tweaked and reworked. Some notable improvements include the use of Joker, Batman and Catwoman in the pilot. Originally Joker was simply referred to as "The Man in the Shadow". Now not only is he mentioned by name but he is also seen as well. One would ask, what is the big deal with mentioning the above characters. The answer is this. Warner Brothers isn't directly making the show. The Tollin-Robbins company is. Warner Brothers has allowed the Tollin-Robbins company to use the Birds of Prey characters only, but not any other DC characters including Batman. However judging from the pictures and reviews of the pilot, it looks like Warner Brothers changed their mind. Based on what I've seen and read, I'm looking forward to this show. I can't say if it is good or bad right now, though I still don't like the idea of a metahuman Huntress and a Telekinetic Black Canary (For those of you who don't know, the comic Canary has a sonic cry which can shatter things or disable people. A more original power than telekinetics if you ask me)
Why would Warner Brothers all of a sudden change their mind and include Batman et all? one answer Spiderman. With Spidey's success (It is now the King of Comic movies in terms of Box office and quality) the studio will have to ensure that all of its films are good. This means no more stupidity (Batman and Robin) no more self serving garbage (Batman Returns) and no more sponsor searching. The people behind Warner Brothers will have to realise that Spiderman's success came due to its excellent storytelling and not in its sponsors and merchandise. Batman also has the drawing power to bring in 300 million dollars again. There is no need to hire top movie stars or have over the top special effects. The character's popularity will do the job. For now, progress on the film is slow, let's hope that the efforts of Darren Aronofsky and Frank Miller will be worthwhile.
AJ June 2, 2002