Nevermind about that Joker cameo

So, yeah, apparently that Heath Ledger will not be edited/CGI-ed into The Dark Knight Rises. That's probably a good thing, because I'm not sure it would've added much to the movie, other than to make people wonder what could have been had Heath Ledger lived.

Separately, Christopher Nolan confirmed what a lot of people expected, that this will be his last Batman film. And Christian Bale seems to have no interest in making one without Nolan. Presumably, Warner Bros. will keep making them as long as they're profitable, let's just hope we don't get another Joel Schumacher.

Joker Cameo?

The latest rumor about The Dark Knight Rises is that they will combine Dark Knight footage and CGI to bring back Heath Ledger's Joker for a brief appearance. The article does note that it would only be done with his family's consent, which is good, because some might find it to be in poor taste otherwise.

Or Maybe Talia's the Villain?

Teresa Palmer was at one point cast to play Talia al-Ghul in a Justice League movie that was scrapped partly because of the Writers' Guild strike a few years back. Now, she wants to play Talia in The Dark Knight Rises, and to add to the conflicting rumors floating around for the past few weeks, the way she phrases things makes it sound like she has reason to believe Talia will be a character in the film. Or at least Bleeding Cool thinks so.

The Dark Knight Rises Based on Prey?

Last rumor for the week, I think. Io9 has the rundown (which has what may end up being spoilers) on a rumor that The Dark Knight Rises will be based on Doeg Moench's Prey. That's not a story I've read personally, Moench does good work but I'm not a big fan of the gothic horror interpretation of Batman that he tends to go for. But the storyline matches with the rumors about Hugo Strange, a female villain, and another female character. So who knows? I agree completely, though, with Io9's take that if it is based on Prey, The Dark Knight Rises will bear only a passing resemblance to the source.

Hardy is Strange?

Yet another rumor: Tom Hardy will be playing Hugo Strange.

Casting the Women of Gotham City

In what might be a contradiction of previous rumors about Julie Madison and Sarah Essen, Christopher Nolan is supposedly meeting with six actresses for two roles in The Dark Knight Rises: Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway and Keira Knightley. One role is a love interest for Bruce Wayne, the other a villain. I would be perfectly comfortable with any of those actresses except for Blake Lively. She's extremely attractive, but I've yet to see her show off any kind of acting ability. Plus she's already in a DC movie as Carol Ferris in Green Lantern.

Julie Madison could certainly be the love interest, but a subplot about Gordon and Sarah Essen, the theorized Clayface/Julie Madison story, a detour to New Orleans for a Killer Croc plot, and a female villain (Catwoman, Talia al-Ghul, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn being the only likely possibilities) would make for a crowded movie. So at least some of these rumors are wrong.

In non-news, the above picture is BattGuano's entry into a contest to design a steampunk Batman on Warren Ellis' Whitechapel boards. There are many quality entries in it, so it's worth browsing through.

More Rumors

These latest rumors (not looking like the most iron clad of sources) concern the ladies in Gotham City. Supposedly, Charlize Theron is up for the role of Sarah Essen and Vera Farmiga (from The Departed and Up In The Air) and Kacie Thomas (from nothing that even sounds familiar) are being looked at for Julie Madison.

Sarah Essen (pictured) first appeared in the comics in Batman: Year One in 1987. She's a detective in the Gotham City PD and Jim Gordon's partner, but soon they develop a romantic relationship. Gordon was already married, so he breaks it off and Sarah accepts a transfer out of Gotham. Comics being what they are, they love to bring characters back, so eventually Gordon's marriage falls apart, Sarah comes back, and they ended up married. Then Gotham had an earthquake and the Joker killed her. I suspect most of that stuff would not happen in a movie, but if she is a character in The Dark Knight Rises, she'll be a cop and there will be some sexual tension with Gordon.

Julie Madison goes back to 1941, and is the first of Batman's major love interests. She's a socialite and aspiring actress who was engaged to Bruce Wayne for some time. She was involved in early stories of both The Monk and Clayface. She then basically disappeared for 60 years (though Elle MacPherson played her in a very small part in Batman & Robin (the George Clooney one)) before being resurrected by writer/artist Matt Wagner in Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk.

More on Julie Madison and Sarah Essen at wikipedia.

The Dark Knight Rises

That's your title right there. The LA Times blog Hero Complex has a teaser for an upcoming interview where Christopher Nolan reveals three big pieces of information:

• The Riddler is not in the film (despite me declaring, a few posts ago, that it was looking like the Riddler was sure to be the villain).
• Warner Bros. has agreed to let him make the film not 3D (good news for people like me and Roger Ebert that hate 3D).
• And, as mentioned above, The Dark Knight Rises is your title.

He implies that we'll see new characters (see below) and also more of the characters we've seen in the previous movies. Obviously, Bruce, Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Jim Gordon can be expected to return, but will the Scarecrow pop up again? Are Harvey Dent and Ra's al-Ghul really dead? Time will tell.

There are also rumors that casting for a female lead has begun. People will obviously freak out about Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy (and maybe Talia al-Ghul, but maybe that's just me), but there's no reason to assume they're casting a villain. There are a lot of women in Bruce Wayne's life. So again, time will tell.

Maybe not Joseph Gordon-Levitt? And maybe Killer Croc?

Tom Hardy, who you may remember as the clone of Picard from the terrible Star Trek: Nemesis but hopefully remember as the forger from the not-at-all-terrible Inception, is reportedly taking on a major role in Batman 3. No word on who he'll be playing or if it's a villain, but everyone is jumping to the conclusion that he'll play the Riddler. I'm not sure about that.

Earlier rumors about Joseph Gordon-Levitt were based on some word that an Inception cast member would be following Christopher Nolan to the next Batman movie. So it sounds like Joseph-Gordon Levitt is out and Tom Hardy is in.

I've been lazy about posting here lately, but there's also been word that Mark Millar, shameless self-promoter/comic book writer/person often later found out to be wrong, claims to know who the villains are and that one is one of his favorites. Word of some filming in New Orleans combined with Millar's preference for things big and dumb would point to Killer Croc. But who knows.

None of this is concrete, but I'd say Tom Hardy being in the movie is very likely at this point. Joseph Gordon-Levitt could be involved or not, Killer Croc could be the main villain or a minor villain or not in it at all.

Riddler Poll Results

Michael Emerson won the Riddler poll, narrowly defeating Johnny Depp. Crispin Glover, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Edward Norton, and Guy Pearce tied for a distant third. I think Emerson would be my preference, but I'm still surprised by the results.

Riddler Poll: Final Round

My original intent was to take the winners of the 9 rounds (Guy Pearce won round 9, if you didn't catch that) plus the top scoring second place finisher, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt emerged as a major contender for the part of the Riddler after I started all this, so I threw him in as well. Sorry, Paul Bettany fans. Here are the 10 finalists, vote, as usual, over to the right of the page.

Casey Affleck
(is it me, or does his head look huge in that picture?)

Johnny Depp

Michael Emerson

Crispin Glover

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Michael C. Hall

Hugh Laurie

Edward Norton

Guy Pearce

Lance Reddick

Voting, as usual, will close in a week.

it's looking like the Riddler

Firstshowing has news that there's a studio casting grid (basically a document listing the roles in an upcoming project) with the Riddler listed. If true, this means the Riddler is the villain. According to the source, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is listed as 'interested.' Again, if true, this does not guarantee that he'll do it. Just that he's a leading candidate.

News & Notes

Batman above by Jamie Roberts.

• So Inception, Christopher Nolan's new non-Batman movie came out, and it's pretty darn good. So sure, it delayed Batman 3, but at least we got a good one out of it.
• Batman 3 is aiming for a July 2012 release
• Michael Caine, who has been wrong about stuff before, says Batman 3 will start filming in April.
• A few commenters have pointed out this new web series about Jason Bard.
• A Batman-themed porn movie came out recently, and the Village Voice looks the history of Batman in porn (which is NSFW).
• Artist Dennis Culver has a big gallery of his versions of Batman villains.
• Comic writer Warren Ellis invites artists on his forums to redesign classic characters from time to time, and they recently took a stab at Batgirl. Some of them are pretty cool.
• MTV's Splash Page has a clip from from DC's newest animated movie, the direct-to-DVD Batman: Under the Red Hood.
• Somebody made a golf cart version of Batman's tumbler.
• Batman: Black and White was a series of short stories in black and white that ran in the backs of Batman comics in the 90s. Apparently, they're making motion comics (a hybrid comic/video thing) out of them. Check one out here.

News & Notes

Above is Batman from a set of vintage style DC posters [edit: the link to which seems to be dead or something, my sincerest apologies]. I'm back from a long break, here's the news since last time:

• Christopher Nolan says the Joker will definitely NOT be in Batman 3, if he had his way he would not make it in 3d (but he still might have to), and he shares a little on his involvement with Superman.


• Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will appear in this summer's Nolan-directed Inception, has emerged as a popular rumor for the Riddler.


• In honor of this month's Batman #700 comic, there were some people celebrating Batman by listing their favorite Batman panels and recapping the previous 100 issues.


• And the internet is abuzz about this lengthy fan film, which I haven't watched yet, but the production values are pretty impressive for a $27,000 budget.

News & Notes

Image from here.

• Newsarama discusses (at great length) the history of the Batman costume. Highly recommended.
• DC is doing 75th anniversary covers that pay homage to classic covers, starting with this one by Mike Mignola. Comics Alliance has a list of 10 other covers they'd like to see him tackle
• Topless Robot lists the 5 coolest and 5 strangest Batman crossovers. I think the Planetary one was one of the best.
• Io9 has a feature on the bootleg Batman art of Asia and a NSFW article on the history of Batman-themed pornography.
• Here is a mashup of Toy Story 2 and The Dark Knight
• Neal Adams, one of the great Batman artists ever, is doing a new Batman book. Here are some images from it.
• A couple of Batman-related webcomics: here and here.

The next Riddler poll will be a while, as I'm on vacation with spotty internet access. But it's coming eventually!

Riddler Poll #9

Way too long since the last one of these, but Hugh Laurie edged out Paul Bettany last time, with no one else getting more than 2 votes. Bettany's in the lead for the top spot among 2nd place finishers, so he may be back. And now, the last round before the finals, voting will be open for a week:

• Jim Carrey
  You might know him from: All sorts of stuff, including as the Riddler in Batman Returns
  This is a terrible idea, so I'm not going to give it much thought. He already did it, he wasn't terrible or anything, but I don't see why this series of Batman films would want to call back to the earlier series.


• James Franco
  You might know him from: Freaks and Geeks, the Spider-Man series, a great 30 Rock cameo
  I like James Franco as an actor, just not for this role. Also, considering his recent "performance art" stint on a soap opera, I feel like his interests aren't in the area of big budget comic book movies.


• James McAvoy
  You might know him from: The Last King of Scotland, Wanted
  Another actor I like. But in the parts I've seen him in, he's the character that... we identify with. I don't think the Riddler, in any variation, has been someone we're supposed to completely understand or sympathize with.


• Ewan McGregor
  You might know him from: Star Wars (the crappy ones), Trainspotting
  I just can't see it. No idea why. I was going to guess that he might be done with big budget franchises too, but he did do Angels and Demons just last year, so there goes that theory.
  


• Guy Pearce (pictured)
  You might know him from: Memento, The Hurt Locker, L.A. Confidential
  He's worked with Christopher Nolan before, he has a definite edge, he can pull off intellectual/nerdy, and... I just like the idea.
  

News & Notes

• July 12th, 2012. I don't think theaters are taking orders for tickets just yet, but keep an eye out.


• Above is a fan-made poster featuring Neil Patrick Harris as the Riddler. No idea of the source, but if anyone knows, let me know in the comments. The voters here didn't think too highly of NPH as the Riddler, but he'd still be an interesting choice.


• Topless Robot has a list of 10 most badass Batman comic moments.


• They also have the trailer for Under the Red Hood, the Batman-centric upcoming direct-to-disc animated feature.


• Apparently there are plans for a Batman stage show.


• And the folks at SMBC theater have a video (with some NSFW language) that's pretty funny.

News & Notes

I haven't done one of these in a while:

• Batman on Film reports that Emily Blunt turned down a part in Captain America because she wants to be Catwoman. Blunt lost to Marion Cotillard in an early round of voting in our Catwoman polls here, but I don't think she'd be a bad choice.


• Kevin Conroy, the voice of many animated versions of Batman, spoke to a crowd at C2E2 about Christian Bale's weird Batman voice.


• Project Rooftop, the superhero costume redesign site, had a whole week of Batwoman pinups after news that Greg Rucka, who'd written every Batwoman story to date, was leaving DC, leaving most to believe the character would more or less disappear. But then it was announced that Batwoman artist JH Williams III would be the writer and artist on an upcoming Batwoman series. Anyway, check out all the Batwoman art here, including the above image by J. Estacado (I actually liked Mike Maihack's best, but Estacado's is pretty striking).


• DC and Bill Sienkiewicz are trying to find some lost pages of art from a Detective Comics issue that was never published.


• And here's Dick Sprang's detailed Batcave drawing analyzed by Comics Alliance's resident Batmanologist, Chris Sims.

Riddler Poll #8

Edward Norton got over half the vote last time, no one else was even close. On to #8:

• Paul Bettany
  You might know him from: A Beautiful Mind, A Knight's Tale, The Da Vinci Code
  
  If you saw A Knight's Tale, you know Paul Bettany is excellent at yelling and making a big spectacle, which made him a popular fan choice back when they were casting the Joker. Obviously, Heath Ledger was the right choice, but Bettany could bring the same energy to the Riddler, if that's the kind of thing you want.


• Macaulay Culkin
  You might know him from: Home Alone, but he's still acting, honest!
  
  There was a TV series called Kings last year where Culkin played an innocent-looking sociopath, and he was quite good at it. The big obstacle with him is that people see him and go "oh, that kid from Home Alone," so it's hard to see him being cast in villainous role in a major movie.


• 
  Brendan Fraser
  You might know him from: Dudley Do-Right, Encino Man, or his weird clappy thing
  
  I do not care for Brendan Fraser at all, but a regular commenter here seems to be a fan, so let me try to give the guy a fair shake. His strengths as an actor are... he's a pretty big guy, and he has sort of an innocence about him that's occasionally charming when he plays a man child (like in The Scout or George of the Jungle). Neither of these applies to the Riddler.


• 
  Hugh Laurie (pictured)
  You might know him from: House, M.D., various British comedy TV shows, but probably just House
  
  His character of Gregory House could work almost unchanged as the Riddler. He's a genius, loves a good mystery, has a definite mean streak, he even already has a cane. He'd have to start wearing green and being more into stealing than healing, but that's a minor change.


• 
  Jude Law
  You might know him from: Sherlock Holmes, A.I., The Road to Perdition
  
  He's a fine actor, and he could pull off an excellent version of a certain kind of Riddler, but not really the one I want.

Voting will be up on the right side of the page in just a minute, and will stay open for a week.

News & Notes

I don't understand this picture at all, nor do I know where it came from. But here's some news:

• Dark Knight and Batman Begins composer Hans Zimmer would like to write music for the Riddler.



• Remember how a copy of the comic where Batman debuted set the record for the most ever paid for a comic? Superman has the record back


• Superman vs Batman arguments endanger friendships


• Adrien Brody was up for the Joker in The Dark Knight


• It's ok to like Batman a lot. It's kinda ok to name your daughters HarleyQuinn and Bat Girl. It is not ok, however, to stalk Law & Order: CI actress Kathryn Erbe. Just thought I'd make that clear to everyone.


• "...as everyone knows, Batman doesn't kill. Or does he?"


• Batman has a drinking problem

Riddler Poll #7

Crispin Glover won the last round pretty handily. I mentioned being clueless about Jim Parsons, and he finished in a respectable 2nd place. Full results on the right sidebar near the bottom. On to round 7:

• Matt Damon
  You might know him from: Bourne/Ocean's movies, getting bumped from Jimmy Kimmel Live
  
  He's a really good actor, and was supposedly considered for Harvey Dent, but I don't think he's right for the Riddler at all. He's kind of a handsome alpha male, the Riddler is a cowardly nerd.


• Paul Dano (pictured)
  You might know him from: Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood
  
  He's got the look for a cowardly nerd. But he might be a tad too young, I'm not sure.


• Jake Gyllenhaal
  You might know him from: Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, Donnie Darko
  
  Most of what I wrote about Matt Damon above pretty much applies here too.


• Damian Lewis
  You might know him from: the TV series Life, Band of Brothers
  
  I had no idea he was English until just now. Anyway, the characters I've seen him play have all been fairly calm. Almost serene, even in chaotic circumstances. Which would be odd for the Riddler. Does he have the range to take on something different from what I've seen? I have no idea.


• Edward Norton
  You might know him from: Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, Rounders
  
  Edward Norton's one of my favorite actors, and I think in theory he could do an excellent Riddler. I only have two concerns. First, two of my least favorite of his performances (in Red Dragon and The Italian Job) he played the villain, and the Riddler would of course be another one. Second, he certainly has comic book cred, but from his performance as the Hulk and basing his character in The Painted Veil on Dr. Strange, he might be a Marvel guy and not that into DC comics.

Vote over on the right side of the page near the top. Voting will be open for a week.

News & Notes

The above is from here. And here are some other things, generally less awesome than Batman with a lightsaber.

• A while back, before Batman Begins, Warner Bros. was considering making a Superman vs Batman movie, and apparently Christian Bale was supposedly in the running to play Superman.


• EW's Popwatch addresses the issue of Superman vs. Batman in a fight.


• Io9 has a list of comic book costumes that actually look good in movies, but somehow leaves Batman off the list.


• Io9 also explains how Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths got the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle all wrong.


• And if you ever wondered whether former Attorney General Janet Reno thinks the Terminator is a better crime fighter than Batman, this is the book for you.

Real, Actual News

Mr. Freeze is out.

I post a lot of news updates and things, but they're usually generic Batman links or unfounded rumors. Here's some actual news, straight from Christopher Nolan:

"It won’t be Mr. Freeze"

Nolan also confirms that the third Batman script is being worked on, and seems to indicate that it will be his last Batman movie. He also talks a lot about Superman. Read all about it here

Riddler Poll #6

Michael Emerson ran away with the last poll. Kevin Spacey and Neil Patrick Harris tied for a distant second. Here are this week's contenders:

• Willem Dafoe
  You might know him from: Spider-Man, Speed 2: Cruise Control
  Dafoe is intense, which is good. But he's already done the comic book villain thing in a very popular movie, so I'm not sure they want to invite the comparison.
  


• Crispin Glover
  You might know him from: Back to the Future, Charlie's Angels
  Crispin Glover is a weird guy. I think if I was going to be on set, he wouldn't be my first choice of a guy to spend my days with, but he might be the right guy to play a completely weird Riddler. If anyone can figure out a way to be unsettling in an intellectual way, Glover can.


• Eddie Murphy
  You might know him from: Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America
  This was one of those rumors from The Sun, which likes to make ridiculous things up and cite "unnamed sources." Never going to happen.
  


• Jim Parsons (pictured)
  You might know him from: The Big Bang Theory
  I don't watch this show, but from the commercials I gather that he's nerdy and awkward. You'll have to tell me if he's right for the Riddler, I honestly don't know.


• Sean Penn
  You might know him from: Mystic River, Milk, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
  The only movies he's done for a while are ones with a political agenda and Oscar bait. Heath Ledger's award notwithstanding, Batman movies aren't where you go to win Oscars, so I doubt he'd ever do it. Even if he would, I'm not sure I'd want him to. He does brooding and he does quiet intensity and he does vulnerable, all of these very well, but even though I don't really favor the boisterously crazed Riddler that some do, he should still like the sound of his own voice and enjoy the challenge of facing Batman, two things that I don't picture Penn capturing as well as others.

Vote over to the right. Scroll down on the sidebar to see the full results from round 5.

News & Notes

Comic writer Warren Ellis points to the above spiffy image by Eliza Gauger.

• Over at the blog Springfield Punx, which makes Simpsons versions of other characters, it's Christopher Nolan Bat week. Check out all the Batman-themed pictures he's done here.


• Some burlesque dancers did a Batman-themed show, including some weird re-enactment of the Joker shooting Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke. See a slideshow of the action (some of which is not safe for work) here

Expect a new Riddler poll shortly.

News & Notes

• IESB is claming that Christopher Nolan's involvement with the next Superman movie is two-fold: Nolan's brother (and Dark Knight co-writer) Jonah will direct the Superman film which will lead to Christopher Nolan directing a Justice League film after the third Batman. I find this hard to believe for two reasons: it would be a giant risk to hand a major franchise like Superman to a first time director, and Nolan and others have said that the Batman of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight exists in a world with no other superheroes, so doing a Justice League movie would seem off. But we'll see, I guess.


• Speaking of Superman, a high quality issue of his first appearance, Action Comics #1, sold for $1 million recently. But, proving once again that Batman is superior, a copy of Detective Comics #27, Batman's first appearance, sold for $1.075 million.


• Topless Robot has a list of crazy foreign knock-off movies, including a pretty terrible Turkish Batman one.


• Io9 lists 75 DC comics you should own for DC's 75th anniversary. I disagree about A Death in the Family (I'd get Arkham Asylum or The Long Halloween or a second copy of Year One instead) but the rest of the Batman stuff (and the rest of the list in general) is pretty good.

News & Notes

• Batman On Film points to some potentially great news that Batman 3 is rumored to be scouting locations, an early step that, if true, means filming probably starts this year.


• ComicsAlliance has the strangest moments from golden age Batman, including the housecat wrestling pictured above.


• Cracked has a comic about what it'd be like if Bruce Wayne had a more typical childhood.


• Bleeding Cool reports on Warner Brothers acquiring the company that made the Arkham Asylum video game.


• Bleeding Cool also has some safe-for-work images from the Batman porn parody film here.


• Buzzfeed has a really poorly translated Batman Begins synopsis here. I don't know if that's supposed to be from a bootleg DVD or what, but somehow I feel like it might be fake.

Riddler Poll #5

As expected, Johnny Depp ran away with the last poll, taking 56% of the vote, compared to Jeff Goldblum's 20% for second place. Full results are to the right, bumped down to the bottom of the sidebar. This week ought to be closer, with an Oscar winner and four nerd-favorite actors:

• Michael Emerson (pictured)
  You might know him from: Lost, and apparently he was in Saw
  
  His character on Lost, Benjamin Linus, is very Riddler-like. He's intelligent, manipulative, and creepy as hell. The creepy thing is as much Emerson as it is Ben Linus, as demonstrated by his ability to make even nursery rhymes frightening, which I think means he'd make a great Mad Hatter as well.


• Neil Patrick Harris
  You might know him from: Doogie Howser, MD, Harold & Kumar, How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible
  
  Technically no stranger to Batman, having voiced the Music Meister on an episode of Batman: the Brave and the Bold, NPH is in pretty high demand these days. And I like him a lot, he's a high energy performer, very talented, but he's not a guy who you could ever imagine posing a threat to Batman. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.


• Viggo Mortensen
  You might know him from: The Lord of the Rings, other stuff
  
  Viggo Mortensen is kind of the opposite of the Riddler in every way I can think of. He's in good shape, handsome, seems like he'd hold his own in a fight, and has a commanding voice. He's Aragorn, not Eddie Nygma.


• Kevin Spacey
  You might know him from: The Usual Suspects, Seven, American Beauty, Superman Returns
  
  I have no doubt that he'd figure out a way to do the Riddler well, but I seriously doubt he'd actually want to do it. He played Lex Luthor, and I think he'd do it again if the circumstances were right, but I think that's going to be it for him and superhero movies.


• Elijah Wood
  You might know him from The Lord of the Rings, and he was apparently that little kid in Back to the Future II who didn't like the idea of video games where you have to use your hands
  
  A much better fit, physically, than Mortensen, and he had some nice moments of kind of evilness in Lord of the Rings, so I could see this. Far from my first choice, but I wouldn't hate the idea.

The poll will be up for a week, vote on the right side of the page.

News & Notes

With the follow-up to The Dark Knight actually being worked on, we have our first rumor that may actually be more than speculation:

• This post on comicbookmovie.com claims that, among other things, The Riddler will be the main villain. Technically that link could contain some spoilers. I find parts of this to be far-fetched, so I don't think it's legitimate, but it's possible, I guess.


• Christopher Nolan explains his philosophy on comic book movies.


• Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths isn't released until next week, but details are already emerging about the next DC direct-to-disc animated feature, Batman: Under The Hood.


• Quiz site sporcle.com challenges you to name the actors and actresses from the Batman films. Just '89-present, no need to worry about 1966's Batman: The Movie.


• And I'm a day late here, but Comics Alliance posts some Batman valentine cards from the 60s.

Don't forget to vote in the Riddler poll over to the right, there are still three days left.

Riddler Poll #4

Last week's poll was the first one that was actually close, with Lance Reddick edging out Jackie Earle Haley by a single vote. Here are this week's actors:

• Steve Carell
  You might know him from: The Office, The Daily Show, The 40 Year Old Virgin
  
  He's a very funny man who should never play the Riddler.



• Johnny Depp
  You might know him from: 21 Jump Street, Nick of Time, The Astronaut's Wife
  
  Obviously he's a really good actor, and one of the most popular choices. I suspect that if the Riddler is in the next movie, and Depp wants to do it, there'd be tremendous pressure to cast him, even if Nolan and company want someone else.



• Lee Evans (pictured)
  You might know him from: He's a comedian, but I know him as the guy on crutches from There's Something About Mary, and the timid guy from The Fifth Element
  
  If you remember him in The Fifth Element, you know he can capture the cowardly aspects of the character. I can see him playing an intellectual, slightly goofy Riddler, somewhere in between Frank Gorshin and the John Glover version from Batman: The Animated Series. However, he is basically an unknown to American audiences, and I'm not sure it's very likely that his name would even come up in casting discussions.



• James Franco
  You might know him from: Spider-Man, Freaks and Geeks, Pineapple Express
  
  He looks stoned all the time, and seems to be making unusual career choices lately (General Hospital), but I still like him as an actor. However, he has absolutely none of the qualities I'd expect for the part.


Jeff Goldblum
You might know him from: The Fly, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, or as the voice of Troy McClure's agent in that Simpsons episode with the Planet of the Apes musical

I like Jeff Goldblum, but too often he just plays Jeff Goldblum, especially as he's gotten older. Which is fine, I think he can have a nice career playing a quirky, unusual guy with a wink. But that's not how I see the Riddler at all.

Voting will be open for a week.

News & Notes

• Buried in the news that Christopher Nolan will be involved in a reboot of the Superman franchise is this:
  

  This does not in any way replace the third installment of Nolan’s Batman movies, which his brother Jonah Nolan and just-left-FlashForward David Goyer, are working on right now.

  Goyer co-wrote Batman Begins and received a story credit for The Dark Knight, but had been serving as showrunner on the ABC series FlashForward (which started off interesting but got boring quickly, IMO). He recently stepped down citing the "ramping up" of work on movies. So even though we're still without official confirmation, it really seems like Christopher Nolan will be back.


• Morgan Freeman expects a third Batman movie shortly, if only because of the billions the studio would stand to make.


• MTV's Splash Page has some suggestions for actresses should DC ever include Zatanna in one of their movies (don't bother with the video, btw, it's terrible). I can't imagine Zatanna in a Batman movie any time soon, though she has been an occasional love interest for Bruce Wayne, just because the character would involve the wackier aspects of Batman mythology.


• Comic writer Kurt Busiek writes a thoughtful piece on why Batman isn't a green lantern, more from a writer's point of view than an elaborate in-universe explanation.


• The Hurting lists the 5 worst Batman villains, surely in an effort to irritate me by picking some of my favorites.


• I don't know what you call this thing, it's sort of like a motorcycle rickshaw, but whatever it is, this Cambodian guy has made it awesome.


• DC's The Source Blog has been showing preview images of The Return of Bruce Wayne like the Pilgrim Batman one above. See here and here for more.

Expect another Riddler poll soon.

Riddler Poll #3

Casey Affleck dominated the second poll, with three other candidates getting 2 votes a piece. And somewhat late, here are the candidates for the third round:

• Jeremy Davies
  You might know him from: Saving Private Ryan (Upham), Lost (Faraday)
  I can't see Davies, who's a pretty good actor, as the Riddler, just because he has a sympathetic quality. Even the version of Riddler in the comics now, a private detective who's given up crime entirely, is not the least bit likable. And there's just something about Jeremy Davies' face that makes him seem vulnerable and friendly.


• Brian Austin Green
  You might know him from: Beverly Hills: 90210, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
  This is one of the few guys on the list who has publicly expressed interest in the role. And I may be alone in this, but I thought he was actually the best part of The Sarah Connor Chronicles towards the end of the show (well either him, or the incredibly hot Stephanie Jacobsen. And I hear he was ok as Metallo on Smallville, too. But he's still Brian Austin Green from 90210, so there's no way a studio signs off on him in a major part. People would hear he was in it and think the movie was a joke. The lesson here is that things like this will haunt you for the rest of your life.


• Jackie Earle Haley
  You might know him from: The Bad News Bears, Watchmen (Rorschach), Human Target
  He was great in Watchmen, and since then he's been a fan-favorite candidate for all kinds of comic book roles, most notably Sinestro in Green Lantern (who should totally be played by Hugh Laurie from House, but that's not important here). A month ago I'd have said he was all wrong for this part, but his character on Human Target isn't too far off the Riddler, and he gives the most interesting performance on the show. I'm still not sold on him, but he wouldn't be a disaster.


• Vincent Kartheiser
  You might know him from: Mad Men, Angel (he was Angel's son)
  One of the aspects of the Riddler is that he's usually pretty weaselly. He's a genius, but clearly not Batman's equal in a fight, so once the dark knight's jumped through his intellectual hoops, Riddler is quick to run, hide, or anything else cowardly he can do. That's an aspect Kartheiser can capture perfectly, based on his Pete Campbell character on Mad Men, and probably exactly why he was suggested. I'm not 100% sold on his ability to play the wicked and cunning aspects Riddler, though.


• Lance Reddick (pictured)
  You might know him from: The Wire, Fringe, and he was briefly on Lost
  Reddick is mostly memorable for his almost disturbing eyes and intense voice. Both of which would be great for the Riddler. Eddie Nygma has, as far as I know, never been portrayed as black, so that might be jarring to some fans, but I think he'd be an excellent choice.

If I had photoshop skills, I'd have made Reddick's jacket and tie green in the photo above, and I think it'd look pretty classy. Voting closes in a week.

News & Notes

Artist Ted Naifeh reimagines various Batman characters like the Joker above (but caution, a couple appear to be NSFW).

• MTV's Splash Page has the trailer to Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, which arrives next month.


• Topless Robot lists the 12 coolest Batmobile toys ever.


• And webcomic Amazing Super Powers has an amusing strip today and I think most of us will agree with how it plays out.

I'm incredibly slow on the Riddler polls, but the third one should be up soon. Or soonish.

Riddler Poll #2

The first poll finished a while back, and Michael C. Hall ran away with it. David Tennant was a distant second. This week, five more:

• Casey Affleck
  You might know him from: Gone Baby Gone, the Ocean's Eleven series
  In my opinion, a much better actor than his brother, so don't hold Daredevil against this guy. He was really impressive in Gone Baby Gone, which is the main reason I can see him as the Riddler. He would be a contemplative, cerebral Riddler, and not the Jim Carrey/Frank Gorshin type.


• Eric Bana
  You might know him from: The Hulk, Munich, Star Trek
  I never saw what the big deal was about him, but I recently saw Chopper, and he was amazing in it. That said, I don't think he's a great fit for the Riddler. He's a big guy, and no matter what incarnation of the Riddler, he's not physically imposing.


• Michael Fassbender
  You might know him from: Inglourious Basterds, 300, Band of Brothers
  I barely remember this guy from any of his movies. Seeing his picture, I guess he looks ok-ish for the part. But he wouldn't be one of my top choices.


• Tobey Maguire
  You might know him from: Spider-Man, some other stuff
  I might be a terrible person, but in the first Spider-Man, when (spoiler alert) Uncle Ben was dying and he started crying, I laughed. I didn't find the scene believable, and he seemed more like a kid crying because of some perceived high school slight than someone seeing a loved one die. The point being, I'm not a fan. Many people disagree with me, so go ahead and vote for him if you want.


• Andy Serkis
  You might know him from: The Lord of the Rings
  He was great as Gollum, which inspired some kind of crazy geek adoration that make them suggest him for every part. Which is fine, but I don't know if I've ever seen him like actually physically there in a movie. Not a great resume for the main villain in a huge movie.

This poll will be open for a week, hopefully the third one will be along more promptly than this one. Also, finding images for the Riddler isn't nearly as fun as Catwoman, but boy is that Eric Bana dreamy.

News & Notes

I fall behind on everything over Christmas, so I'm just now getting caught up. I'll have another Riddler poll up over the weekend, I hope, but here's some news since the last time I updated:

• There's a teaser trailer and a list of likely villains for the sequel to the Arkham Asylum videogame.


• After the upcoming Crisis on Two Earths, the next direct-to-DVD animated movie from DC is expected to be Batman: Under the Hood, possibly written by Judd Winnick


• Book of Eli directors the Hughes Brothers claim they were working on The Dark Knight Returns, and that it would have starred Clint Eastwood. Eastwoood would have been perfect, but I still haven't seen a Hughes Brothers movie since Menace II Society that did anything beyond look fancy.


• Comic book rumor site Bleeding Cool believes that 2010 will see the return of inter-company crossovers, specifically mentioning a Batman/Daredevil crossover by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack.


• I wish I'd posted it before Christmas, but Neill Cameron did a series of pop culture-themed Santa Clauses, including a Frank Miller Batman Santa.


• Fan Art Exhibit, where the incredibly popular Kristen Bell/Harley Quinn poster originated, posted a series of character-based posters. Their Riddler is pictured above (I think based on Guy Pearce).


• Wired ranks the actors who played Batman best. Christian Bale is not #1.


• Topless Robot had a video featuring every (I think) "Holy ___!" by Robin in the 1960s TV series, and showed off the Bat-limo-bile


• Super Not So Super features superheroes (including Batman) at their most ordinary.


• Io9 pits Alfred Pennyworth against Iron Man/Avengers butler Jarvis in Iron Butler America. Spoiler alert: had Jarvis won, I doubt I'd have posted it, because that'd just be wrong.


• Many TV series have something called a writers bible, which lays out the rules of the show. Like how it will look, story structure, long term plot goals, and defining characters. The bible for Batman: The Animated Series leaked online, and Chris Sims at Comics Alliance has the highlights.