The May 2020 BOF Mailbag #1

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While I totally appreciate the solo Batman films, will we ever move beyond that and allow Nightwing or others to take the big screen?

JETT SAYS: Well, WB had a Nightwing movie in development by THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (I love that movie!) director Chris McKay, but honestly, I don’t that’s still an active project.  If it did happen, it would likely be something standalone and not related to Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN.

On the flip side, if you’re asking me if I think Nightwing or other members of the Batman Family like Batgirl, Batwoman, etc. will appear in one of Reeves’ THE BATMAN trilogy of films, I definitely don’t see that happening either.  However, I do think some incarnation of Robin will show up in one of those 3 movies at some point — probably in the finale.

In what ways would you like to see BOF grow the rest of this year and beyond?

JETT SAYS: I kinda like where BOF is right now.  I’ve got a great crew of folks who contribute and for that, I’m very thankful.  But BOF can always grow, right?  Maybe I’ll finally build that state of the art media production studio!

JETT SAYS: You know what, JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK may be at the top of my list after THE BATMAN as well.  If it’s anything close to how good WATCHMEN was on HBO, we’re in for something special.  And of course, I’m excited about WONDER WOMAN 1984 later this year.

I’m not a fan of the DC stuff on The CW (I was a fan of THE FLASH for several seasons, then it lost me a couple of ’em ago), nor most of the original stuff on the DC Universe app other than DOOM PATROL and HARLEY QUINN.

If Robin were a part of Matt Reeves’ trilogy, would you rather have him much younger than Robert Pattinson’s Batman, or more or less his equal?

JETT SAYS: His “equal,” age-wise?

No.

However, you could introduce a young Dick Grayson into Battinson’s world — perhaps in THE BATMAN — as a 12ish-year-old kid and have him end up being “Robin” when he’s around 17ish.

There’s simply no way to pull off the “comic book accurate” version of Robin — a child…a child — sporting a domino mask, orange tunic, and green pixie boots — in a Batman film that’s supposed to be taken seriously.

Yeah, I know it “works” in the comics and in animation, but wouldn’t in a live-action movie.

With all that said, Robin is an important part of the Batman mythos and I’m sure Matt Reeves — just like Christopher Nolan before him — realizes that and will make it work within the confines of THE BATMAN‘s grounded, gritty, and street-level universe.

You have said numerous times you borderline love MAN OF STEEL. I’m curious what would have pushed it into a solid “love” ranking and where you would rank it among live-action Batman movies since BATMAN ‘89.

JETT SAYS: Yes, I do indeed “borderline” love MAN OF STEEL and it’s a DC movie that I’ll definitely watch a couple of times a year for the foreseeable future.

Totally dig that movie!

With that said, the third act — the Superman/Zod “Battle of Metropolis” — was simply too damn long and ended up tainting the previous 2/3 of MOS which is awesome.  And while I’m not a “Superman kills Zod” hater, I do think that there was a better way for Superman to take down Zod without breaking his GD neck.  AND…

Nolan and Goyer teed up a sequel F’n perfectly at the end of MOS with the “Welcome to the planet” line from Lois to Clark.

But alas, we ended up with BATMAN v SUPERMAN.

Got a question for the mailbag: Do you think Warner Bros. will focus more on their animated Bat-films if Covid-19 cripples the film industry longer? (I’d imagine it’d be easier than having a hundred people on a set.)

JETT SAYS: I don’t see them ramping up production of animated Batman films because of the COVID-19 lockdown — I’m sure it’s affected the DC animated movie schedule as well.

Any insights into why THE FLASH’s release got moved up while other movies are getting pushed back; particularly with pre-production being so tumultuous and full of turnover? Is Ezra still The Flash?

JETT SAYS: Javi, as I’ve said for years here on BOF, I’ll believe there’s a Flash movie when my butt is in a theater seat watching it.  That’s all I got brother!

What do you think is a reasonable time frame to see the first official full photo of Pattinson as Batman? So far we’ve seen a stunt double in the suit, Matt Reeves’ “Camera Test,” and the pic with the Batmobile. I’m looking for something that shows details of the suit but with confirmation that it’s Pattinson. Do you think ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY will have this? They seem to get exclusive photos like that first.

JETT SAYS: For now, I think we’ve seen quite enough.  The film is now 15 months from it’s October 1, 2021 release, so there’s plenty of time to publicize the movie and fully reveal Battinson.  Speaking of which Cary, that is Robert Pattinson in the Batsuit with the three images of the new Batmobile that Matt Reeves dropped a while back…and it gives us a pretty good look at The Batman, no? #patience

THE BATMAN (2021)

My question is about THE BATMAN. Do you think it’s possible we’ll see any promo stuff — production stills, logo etc. —  in the near future? Or is that kind of thing on hold until filming resumes?

JETT SAYS: See the above question and answer.  I don’t think there’s any point to release anything right now just to appease fans — all of whom are going to see the film anyway.  Frankly, this film isn’t even on the general audience’s radar yet, so there’s plenty of time to market and publicize THE BATMAN.

JETT SAYS:  OK, I’m not counting the two theatrically-released animated films — MASK OF THE PHANTASM and INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE — or any of the big team-up movies (though I did count BATMAN v SUPERMAN because it’s essentially a Batman film).  Here you go…

BATMAN MOVIES

8) BATMAN v SUPERMAN  7) BATMAN RETURNS  6) BATMAN & ROBIN  5) BATMAN FOREVER  4) BATMAN ’89  3) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES  2) THE DARK KNIGHT 1) BATMAN BEGINS

SPIDER-MAN MOVIES

7) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2  6) SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME  5) SPIDER-MAN 3  4) SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING  3) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN  2) SPIDER-MAN  1) SPIDER-MAN 2

Now, that’s my own rankings for each.  But if I had to straight-up combine and rank them together objectively, here’s my top 5…

5) BATMAN ’89  4) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES  3) SPIDER-MAN 2  2) BATMAN BEGINS  1) THE DARK KNIGHT.

We’ve seen perma-white and we’ve seen face paint. What do you want the next Joker to look like?

JETT SAYS: I want him to look like The Joker.

What are your short and long term goals for BOF? Other than the obvious — campaigning for quality characterizations and stories with Batman on film?

JETT SAYS: Well, after 22 years and still going strong, THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, and a new series of Batman films starting with THE BATMAN in 2021 (*fingers crossed*), I figure BOF’s goal has more than been achieved.

Personally, I don’t plan on leaving and will keep on keeping on with BOF as long as I can.

JETT SAYS: Yeah, I’m sure it’s possible…maybe even likely.

I read the trade article with this info as well, and it’s based on Warner Bros. Television sources — though I’m sure Warner Bros. Pictures is also making plans for protocols for film sets once filming resumes.

If the [COVID-19] lockdowns go on for a really extended period of time — like into next year or 2022 like some medical experts are predicting will be needed — do you think Matt Reeves/WB will still go back and finish THE BATMAN?

JETT SAYS: I’m not worried in the least that THE BATMAN will be finished and we all shall watch it in a theater relatively soon.