Casting Our Own Original Batman Movies

Plus, what's new to streaming in March on all the major platforms

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Mar 04, 2022

The vigilante hero of Gotham is back on the big screen this weekend. In The Batman, director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson have built their own Batman universe, this time leaning into the detective mystery element as Bruce Wayne tries to solve a series of strange killings. The cast is filled with exciting figures and the style and atmosphere looks to be inspired less by past Batman movies and more by noir mysteries and David Fincher thrillers.

With this in mind, we decided to create our own Batman films by setting out our vision for the genre and tone and casting all the main players. Consider this our official pitch to Warner Bros. Next time you hear from us we could be millionaires.

We also listed the notable new to streaming movies this month on Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max. And if you missed Drew’s breakdown of the Oscars’ “Envelopegate” on its fifth anniversary, check that out here.

Drew’s Batman movie

Genre: Sci-fi Batman

In the 21st century, Batman has typically been dark, gritty, and grounded in a reality we recognize, so let’s reimagine the Caped Crusader in a sci-fi world. We’ll keep the dark tone, but replace the Gotham crime drama with mysterious, trippy sci-fi. Maybe Bruce Wayne is stuck in a time loop, or maybe a tech-bro supervillain is threatening the city with some unfathomably dangerous technology. I’ll let our writer-director figure out the details.

Batman: Daniel Kaluuya

Why wouldn’t we get one of the most in-demand young actors in Hollywood to play Batman? Fresh off an Oscar win last year for Judas and the Black Messiah, Daniel Kaluuya hasn’t done much sci-fi in his career thus far, but he has proven he can hold our attention no matter what he’s doing on screen. From Get Out to Black Panther to Widows, Kaluuya has shown the brooding stoicism and capable physicality necessary to play Batman. Plus, he always looks plenty comfortable in a tux for when he will be playing the Bruce Wayne scenes.

Director: Alex Garland

For this ambitious sci-fi Batman film, we are getting one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today. Earlier in his career, Alex Garland wrote the screenplays for 28 Days Later and Sunshine. More recently, he’s written and directed Ex Machina and Annihilation, only two of the most stunning sci-fi efforts of the last ten years. So, we’re giving Garland $150 million to go make a mind-blowing sci-fi Batman movie.

Villain: J.K. Simmons as Mr. Freeze

We’ve seen many of the rogues' gallery of Batman villains depicted in live-action films in recent years. There’s been three Jokers in just the last 15 years, and the Riddler and Penguin are back in The Batman. We haven’t seen anyone approach the Mr. Freeze character since Arnold Schwarzenegger donned the sub-zero cryogenic suit in 1997’s disastrous Batman & Robin. Let’s reboot Mr. Freeze aka Dr. Victor Fries with J.K. Simmons, an actor everyone loves that can also intimidate and terrify if necessary (just watch Whiplash for proof).

Supporting characters: Jonathan Pryce as Alfred, Forest Whitaker as Lucius Fox, Anya Taylor-Joy as Poison Ivy

Rounding out our cast is Jonathan Pryce as Alfred, a Welsh actor that could easily take up the mantle from Michael Caine and Jeremy Irons, Forest Whitaker as Lucius Fox, a natural successor to Morgan Freeman in the role, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Poison Ivy. We need our Poison Ivy to be alluring, smart, and otherworldly, all qualities Taylor-Joy has delivered in The Witch, The Queen’s Gambit, and Last Night in Soho. Uma Thurman played the villain in Batman & Robin, and the young Taylor-Joy would bring a similar look and feel to the part.

Composer: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

While Garland’s usual team (Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury) would assuredly do a bang-up job here, I’d be interested to see what Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross would bring to this material. Two-time Oscar winners for Best Score (The Social Network and Soul), Reznor and Ross have composed for David Fincher and Pixar, so they have shown the range necessary to provide an ominous and thrillingly original sci-fi score on this project.

Billy’s Batman movie

Genre: Cult Thriller

The vision for my ideal Batman movie is a self-contained cult thriller that goes into the mysterious, but rich corrupt origins of Gotham City. A 30ish year-old Bruce Wayne has just taken up the mantle of The Batman and is obsessively driven to protect his beloved Gotham City. With little direction on how to do so. A mysterious figure in Hugo Strange begins to pop up in his day-to-day life as Bruce Wayne. He’s a private psychiatrist who has infiltrated Arkham Asylum and is using his “expertise” to help these inmates. Wayne strikes up a friendship with Strange’s lead scientist Kirk Langstrom (LaKeith Stanfield). A similarly driven young 30ish man. Giving Wayne some confidence that this Hugo Strange character might be trustworthy. As Langstrom and Wayne deepen their friendship, Langstrom’s body begins to breakdown/transform (a slow David Cronenberg’s The Fly-inspired transformation throughout the movie). Seemingly because of a treatment that Langstrom created with Strange to treat his worsening hearing. The decay/transformation of this trustworthy character begins to make clear the reality of Strange’s new presence for both characters and the source behind Strange’s growing influence. A deep-seated secret cult named the Court of Owls is attempting to make a comeback and Strange is just the puppet being used to make that a reality. Many horrors are just being discovered at the end of this first installment.

Batman: Dev Patel

It feels proven at this point that a young and naive Bruce Wayne/Batman is a recipe for success, so why mess with something that is proven. Dev Patel under the mask is still a mystery how that might work, but him as a billionaire playboy is something I can absolutely buy. His hubris being a hidden factor behind his decision to be The Batman and I want that side of him to be a defining factor of this Bruce Wayne. The movie/plot slowly breaks and humbles him in the process. Revealing the hardened Batman we have known to love.

Director: David Lowery

Let's keep this David Lowery and Dev Patel team going with a Batman adaptation. They just had some solid critical and box office success in 2021 with The Green Knight and that momentum is ripe for a bigger budget with known intellectual property. Lowery is a master at making his worlds feel lived-in and expanding the lore of his story no matter the scale. All while making the story feel personal. All necessary elements for the setting of Gotham City and a Batman story. His ability to blend that lived-in feel with an expansive lore will perfectly infuse a cult thriller atmosphere into the story.

Villain: Michael Stuhlbarg as Hugo Strange

Stuhlbarg really only has the capability to convince an audience that he can mentally beat Batman/Bruce Wayne and this character, based on the 30 minutes of research I did, seems like an amazing fit for Stuhlbarg. Hugo Strange is a mysterious psychiatrist that is often a puppet being paraded around as a powerful figure. Stuhlbarg will be able to perfectly play that powerful figure while believably being just a face of an organization. The reality of where his power comes from is much more sinister than Strange himself.

Supporting characters: Haley Lu Richardson as Rachel Dawes, Anupam Kher as Alfred, Lakeith Stanfield as Kirk Langstrom/Man-Bat, and the Court of Owls cult

Haley Lu Richardson as Rachel Dawes will be an equal counterpart to Wayne. Not just a moral compass and lesson provider, but an equally driven and independent presence that has her own desire to tend to the needs of Gotham. Hopefully creating a believable love story that feels tragically lost because of her own desires as well as Wayne’s constant distance from being The Batman.
Anupam Kher is a legendary Indian actor who made a big splash in his role in The Big Sick, a calm, but powerful father figure in that story. So his presence will fit right in as Alfred. The moral compass to the young Bruce Wayne, a constant figure that doesn’t need to be reinvented. Plus, I kind of want this version of the Wayne family/Alfred to be an Indian-American family.
Lakeith Stanfield as Kirk Langstrom. This character will bring the majority of the emotion. I didn’t want a sidekick for Batman, but a friendship at the core that exposes the greater sin of the city. Seeing a man’s body breakdown throughout the whole film like in the movie The Fly will allow that decay to fuel our hero and villain. Linking Langstrom with Strange and Batman will make mysteries unfold organically as the hope of curing Langstrom’s dwindles.
Court of Owls will be the presence that is teased throughout this movie that will be the main villains in future iterations of this story.

Composer: Mica Levi

Mica Levi broke out in the film industry with a score in the movie Under the Skin. A brilliant and atmospheric score that perfectly conveyed the temperament of the character throughout story. Immediately followed that effort in Under the Skin with an Oscar nominated turn for the movie Jackie. There is no need create any type of theme for the Batman character, but rather, capture the temperament of a character that starts off obsessive and confident. Then as The Batman begins to lose grasp on the realities of this story the score needs to portray an insecure and nervous man doing anything to keep things under control.

Netflix

21 Bridges
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Coach Carter
The Green Mile
My Best Friend’s Wedding
The Shawshank Redemption
Shooter
Shrek
Sorry to Bother You
Top Gun
Zoolander
Dunkirk (March 12th)
Blade Runner 2049 (March 26th)

Amazon Prime Video

Dead Poets Society
Spaceballs
Weekend At Bernie’s
The Proposal

Hulu

Baby Mama
Blue Velvet
The Descendants
Devil in a Blue Dress
Edward Scissorhands
The Insider
Juno
L.A. Confidential
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Margin Call
The Princess Bride
The Royal Tenenbaums
Sense and Sensibility
The Talented Mr. Ripley
|The Virgin Suicides

HBO and HBO Max

The Aviator
Adaptation
Boyz n the Hood
F9: The Fast Saga
Dune (March 10th)
Halloween Kills (March 18th)
King Richard (March 24th)

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