Where Should Batman Go When Nolan Leaves?

As eager as we are to see The Dark Knight Rises, we know that when that day comes, it's gonna be bittersweet. It will be bittersweet because that movie will mark the last time Chris Nolan directs a Batman film.

That sound you hear are fanboys everywhere taking a collective puff on their inhalers, preparing for a day when the world will still need Batman, but Nolan may not. What Nolan and his filmmaking team did with Gotham's Dark Knight changed things - forever. The filmmaker took his inspired story sense that made Memento and Insomnia work, applied it to the DC Universe, and elevated the comic book movie to the type of thing that earns Oscar nominations and wins. Batman Begins' tested the "reboot" waters and now that movie's model is one we've seen applied to other reboots, such as James Bond's Casino Royale. The Dark Knight spoiled us on what a great movie can be and changed the way Hollywood makes sequels.

Now, as The Dark Knight Rises gradually peels back the curtain on production details (actors will be used, lights will be plugged in, that sorta thing), the threequel faces the added pressure of not just delivering on insanely high audience expectations, but also being Nolan's swan song. The director will exit the franchise with a house full of Scrooge McDuck vault money, sure, but he will also leave behind some very big shoes to fill, as Warner Bros. will no doubt find a way to further the monetizing adventures of its Caped Crusader.

But what ways will - should - the studio take? What does the character and his universe need and deserve? Should WB wait a few years and do the reboot treatment again? Maybe adapt another book in the canon? IGN Movies takes a stab at predicting which paths the Bat franchise should pursue, and which ones are best left for the Arkham-ites of the Narrows to fan-fic.

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Eric Moro, IGN Movies

What's awesome about Batman, as a character, is that there have been so many amazing "takes" on him. In fact, nearly every creator who's ever taken a stab at writing/illustrating The Dark Knight has placed his own stamp on the hero, shaping him into the comic book icon we all know and love. Hell, even Nolan's theatrical adaptation can be considered its own incarnation - moving the character closer into the realm of "reality" than ever before

That said, I would love to see another popular take on the character adapted for the big screen; specifically, Frank Miller's 1986 four-issue mini-series The Dark Knight Returns. The story of an older Batman coming out retirement to reclaim a Gotham City overrun by both supervillains and mutant gangs alike would be like nothing we've ever seen before in a live-action Batman. The story would have the appropriate fanboy base crucial to winning over our particular demographic, and be infused with enough big screen spectacle that's sure to draw in mainstream viewers.

And while Zack Snyder's name has often been bandied about for this particular project should it ever come to fruition, he's busy with a particularly iconic franchise of his own: Superman (which, if he shapes the character appropriately, would be ripe for inclusion in the final installment of a The Dark Knight Returns theatrical trilogy -- the showdown between Batman and Superman). So how about we give director Duncan Jones the wheel of this car and let him take her out for a test drive?

Runner-ups in the "another popular take on the character adapted for the big screen that I'd like to see" category: Batman Beyond and Superman/Batman ("The World's Finest" or "K" storylines).

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Jim Vejvoda, IGN Movies

As much as I'd love to see more Batman films starring Christian Bale (with maybe a new director approved by Chris "I'm Done, Dammit" Nolan), I don't trust that the quality won't eventually dip if they keep going back to the Bat-well.

Perhaps it'd be best to just retire the big screen franchise for a decade or two, and then let Nolan and Bale return to make their version of The Dark Knight Returns. That, or perhaps Warner Bros. can finally do that oft-rumored live-action Batman TV series, which has always been quashed because of the features. (I'd want a gritty series in the vein of the Nolan films, mind you, and not necessarily a cameo-studded Smallville in Gotham.)

Bottom line: All good franchises have ultimately churned out a turd or two (or more) because they simply made too many sequels. Hopefully, the studio has heeded the lessons they learned from the 1990s Batman film series.