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SALT LAKE CITY — Word on the virtual street of Internet hearsay is DC and Warner Brothers now have a short list of directors they’d like to see do the “Justice League.”
Trying to pull a movie together with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and a few other super-sorts has been on Warner Brothers’ to-do list for some time, but the success of “The Avengers” has added a new level of pressure for the studios.
Recently, rumors kicked up that Ben Affleck was approached to direct the project but declined the honor. Shortly after Affleck's presumed involvement, stories circulated that the Wachowski brothers were showing interest. Then, in what may have been the most troubling news since Michael Bay said he was going to direct a Pearl Harbor movie, I mean a Transformers movie, I mean Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie, SupermanSuperSite.com reported that Brett Ratner was up for the "Justice League" gig.
While most fans probably see the latter option as a possible Joel Shoemaker meets "Batman and Robin" formula, the sad reality is choosing a director is only half the battle for the super team. There are still questions regarding Ryan Reynolds and the Green Lantern. Will Henry Cavill play Superman in both films? How on earth do you ground and cast a character like Wonder Woman? Now that Christian Bale's done, who takes on the dark mask of the Batman?
Only time will tell, really. But while we're waiting around for answers, and since we're sure DC and Warner Brothers are regular readers of the "Upcoming movie news" articles, I'd like to do my part for the project by suggesting five leading men who could take over for Bale as the Batman.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Grame McMillan of Time Entertainment put out an interesting article last month concerning the John Blake character from "The Dark Knight Rises," played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
If you haven't seen the film yet, go ahead and skip to the next person. If you have, however, there are two interesting points brought up by McMillan. First, there is actually no John Blake character in the Batman comics. So while Gordon-Levitt makes the obvious Robin connection at the end of the film, the character's future is wide open.
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Second, as McMillan stated, "Various Robins have, historically, filled in for Batman during multiple absences, with Grayson even going so far as to take over the role of Batman during 1994′s 'Prodigal' story line and 2009–10′s 'Batman Reborn' epic."
If DC and Warner Brothers are interested in preserving the impressive Gotham character list they created with Christopher Nolan, it wouldn't be difficult to write Blake in as the next Batman. It might annoy some of the die-hard fans, but maintaining the popular story arch would probably be worth it. At the very least, it would lend some much-needed credibility to the currently questionable project.
Chris Pine
Chris Pine has been in some especially terrible films. However, he's also proven he can take an iconic role and show it respect while making it his own.
When "Star Trek" fans heard Lindsay Lohan's co-star from "Just My Luck" was taking over for William Shatner as Captain Kirk, there were some grumblings. But Pine won the day and brought on board a new generation of Trekkies.
If he were to bring that same energy to the shadowy vigilante, he might help ground some of the more fantastic elements of "Justice League." If he were to fail, people could just shrug and say, "What did you expect from Lindsay Lohan's co-star from "Just My Luck?"
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is pretty much a given for this list, isn't he? If he chose to play Batman, people would immediately show interest in "The Justice League" project. Everyone wants Gosling in their film, he's good in every role he plays, and if he came out and said, "I'm going to play Batman in 'The Justice League,’ ” people would immediately ask the question, "Why?"
Does he seem the perfect Batman? Probably not. But who wouldn't love to see what he'd do with the character if he decided to invest the time?
Paul Rudd
Before you ask, "Why on earth is Paul Rudd on your Batman list," at least take a minute to remember the Michael Keaton announcement. Everyone said it was a mistake, that Keaton was too crazy, and a semi-comedian shouldn't be playing one of the most serious heroes in comic book history. But today, people still debate Keaton vs. Bale for the best Bruce Wayne.
Rudd could bring that unhinged Bruce back.
Bruce Wayne is such an interesting character when slightly off-kilter. Nolan and Bale seemed to give the character peace once he found his purpose, but Keaton's Batman felt just a shade more sane than the Joker.
Rudd's definitely a handsome guy, he could train for the more physical aspects of the part, and at the end of the day, he could play unstable. It would be a lot of fun to see that Batman playing off the traditionally serious members of the "Justice League."
Dominic Cooper
I'm not sure if actors are allowed to cross from Marvel to DC, but the man who played Howard Stark in "Captain America: the First Avenger" received a lot of attention from the much smaller film, "The Devil's Double."
Based on a true story, "The Devil's Double" follows the life of Latif Yahia, a man asked to double for Saddam Hussein's son Uday. In the film, Cooper plays both Uday and Latif. While the film itself suffered from lackluster reviews, Cooper's performance was hailed as Oscar worthy.
Cooper could probably play either the serious straight-man version of Bruce Wayne or the more interesting, unbalanced version. He has the look and is enjoying a growing following as he gathers more screen time.
If Warner Brothers is looking for a smaller but rising star, then Cooper could be their guy.
As always, here's a quick recap of this week's news.
"Lawrence of Arabia" fans will be thrilled to see the classic getting a complete restoration and release in theaters. TheOneRing.net has our first look at the probable Great Goblin from the Hobbit films. The worst trailer of the year goes to "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters." And finally, "Avatar" producer Jon Landau told the Courier Post Online they are currently filming a second and third movie for the franchise, but contrary to Internet rumors, they are not shooting a fourth.
You can contact Travis Poppleton at TSPoppleton@gmail.com.
