The word has come down from director Chris Nolan: Christian Bale will be Batman. Of the possible contenders, I’d say that’s definitely the right choice. Now for everyone else…I’ve been hearing Aaron Eckhart as Commissioner Gordon for years, and still think that’s spot-on Year One casting. As for the villain(s)…it sounds like they’re leaning toward Ras Al Ghul and the Scarecrow. (Cillian Murphy, Raz?) Those are two of the creepier denizens of Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery, and if done right this film could be great fanboy fun, a la X2. I think they could just have easily used a young, whip-thin, and terminally insane Joker, particularly if they are trying to reboot the Batman mythos as intended, but oh well. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see what the director of Memento does with Arkham Asylum.
Category: Casting
Four-Color Casting Call.
Eager to catch up with Marvel in the summer blockbuster dept., Warner Brothers and DC plan to screentest a bevy of young stars for Christopher (Memento) Nolan’s new Batman film. (Of these choices, I’d go with Christian Bale.) Also is comic casting news, it turns out cut-rate chanteuse/Newlywed Jessica Simpson will be playing the lead in Mort the Dead Teenager. Normally, this’d be a non-story, but she had been rumored to play Sue Storm (Invisible Girl) in the upcoming Fantastic Four flick, which — if true — would have instantly erased any interest I might have in the project. Now, Naomi Watts, on the other hand…
Orlando and Gabriel.
Will Tilda Swinton sign on for Constantine? She and Rachel Weisz should add a touch of class to the proceedings, but I still think Keanu in the title role is a deal-killer. South London, not SoCal…
Good Namor Hunting.
Matt Damon as the Sub-Mariner? No, no, no…that’s just plain goofy.
Avast!
For those of you desiring more creaky ships and cannon broadsides in the wake of Pirates of the Caribbean, the trailer for Master and Commander is now online. Speaking of Pirates, its success has helped make Johnny Depp the frontrunner for Tim Burton’s Willy Wonka remake. (Michael Keaton, another Burton favorite, had been previously rumored as the lead.) I say, if you’re going to do it, Depp’s the best bet.
The Thick Red Line.
Only six years after The Thin Red Line, Terrence Malick readies his fourth film, Che, tentatively with Benicio Del Toro in the title role. (Expect voiceovers.) I just watched TTRL again the other night and was amazed once again how many people are in it. I remembered Jim Caviezel, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, John Travolta, George Clooney, John C. Reilly, Ben Chaplin, Nick Nolte, Adrien Brody, Sean Penn, and Elias Koteas from the first go-round in the theater. But seeing it again this week, I now also noticed Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Stahl, Jared Leto, Matt Doran (Mouse from The Matrix), and Thomas Jane — plus Miranda Otto as Chaplin’s wayward wife on the homefront. I’d love to see the unreleased six-hour version someday (which, according to the credits, apparently also includes Viggo Mortensen, Mickey Rourke, Lukas Haas, Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Pullman, Jason Patric, Martin Sheen, Donal Logue, Randall Duk Kim [The Keymaker from Reloaded], and a full-on performance by Brody), even if it ends up being too much for one sitting.
The Cooler King meets the Muscles from Brussels.
Heard any really awful movie news lately? How ’bout this gem – Jean Claude Van Damme will be starring in a remake of The Great Escape. That’s flat-out egregious, even worse than Keanu as John Constantine. The Great Escape does NOT need to be remade, but if you’re going to do it anyway, the cast should look something like the one assembled for The Thin Red Line. And there should be no – I repeat no – Van Damage anywhere near the freaking picture. If they have Van Damme jumping the fences on his motorcycle, I expect the ghost of Steve McQueen will haunt him until the end of his days.
In the Company of (Wicker) Men.
Neil LaBute talks a little about his forthcoming remake of The Wicker Man. Americanizing it sounds like a terrible idea, as does casting Nicholas Cage in the Edward Woodward role, but I suppose I’ll give LaBute the benefit of the doubt for now.
Laugh it up, Fuzzball.
In a bold move to counter further fanboy defection to The Matrix and Lord of the Rings, George Lucas enlists Chewbacca for Episode III. If they treat him like they did Jango and Boba Fett in Ep. II, expect Chewie to be not only Anakin’s lost-lost uncle but also the father of the entire Ewok species.
Original Sin.
As per usual, DC/Vertigo screws up another potential movie franchise. Not only is Hellblazer‘s John Constantine now American, he’s Keanu. That’s just shameful.