After listening to one of the latest Fatman of Batman, Kevin Smith suggests the DCEU (and more specifically Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice) would have benefited from using Christian Bale’s Batman and his Dark Knight continuity. It would have said that Warner Brothers and DC weren’t attempting to carbon copy what Kevin Feige is successfully doing with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
How would that have worked? Kevin Smith wasn’t saying he didn’t like Ben Affleck’s Batman but rather provided another avenue in which Warner Brothers could have taken their shared universe. It also would’ve worked, especially since Christopher Nolan is an Executive Producer on the new DC Movies.
Expanding the universe of the Dark Knight Trilogy won’t work because it would conflict with the trilogy’s essence. If this version of Batman lived in a world with the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and the Flash, it would force the franchise to take a left turn and change the fabric of what made Christopher Nolan’s movies work.
Nolan’s version of Batman was a grounded realistic take on a character that has been around for 79 years. It was successful, but this version of Batman already changed some of the Greatest Detective’s biggest villains such as The Joker, Two-Face, Bane, Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul.
Let’s focus on Ra’s Al Ghul, a character who can be revived using the waters of the Lazarus Pit. In The Dark Knight Rises, a vision of Ra’s Al Ghul tells Bruce there are many different forms of immortality. The most important part of his mythology isn’t used. There is no Lazarus Pit. There is no human who has lived for thousands of years.
With how Talia ended up in The Dark Knight Rises it would also mean no Damian Wayne in the DCEU.
The Dark Knight Rises ended with Joseph Gordon Levitt’s John Blake/Robin taking the mantle of the Bat and Bruce Wayne finding happiness with Selina Kyle. It would take a hard left turn to bring him back to Gotham, push Blake away, and give up his happiness.
For comic Batman that would be no problem because Bruce Wayne was his secret identity and Batman was who he was. The movie version was the opposite. Batman was always only ever his mask, a necessity until he found peace within himself. By the last scene of The Dark Knight trilogy, peace was something Bruce finally found.
Gotham believes him dead and Commissioner Gordon knows his identity.
There’s also the simple fact of the Joker. To keep the Dark Knight trilogy in the same universe as the rest of the DCEU would have meant recasting the Joker. He was played by the talented late Heath Ledger. His portrayal won over legions of fans and has set the bar for those who come afterward in live-action.
To have someone else play the same Joker would be a disservice to Ledger’s performance. Having the Batman without the Joker is like Superman without Lex Luthor. Not using the Joker would also mean no Harley Quinn, or at least not the version from the comics. This would stop the use of some of Batman’s biggest comic arcs.
While the Dark Knight trilogy was near perfection, especially with The Dark Knight. The movies would never have worked as part of the DCEU due to their grounded take. They already killed off a few of Batman’s rogues.
If there is anything Warner Brothers has done right with the DCEU (other than Wonder Woman thanks to Patty Jenkins) it would be knowing to reboot the franchise with a new Batman who can coexist in a world of alien refugees, a Greek Goddess, the fastest man alive and Parademons. Whether it was a success or not is surely a topic for another time.
