The November 2021 BOF Mailbag #1

Welcome to the 1st BOF Mailbag for November 2021!

I appreciate all the questions, so let’s get to ’em! – Bill “Jett” Ramey

ALSO READ: The Halloween 2021 BOF Mailbag

Do you think that THE BATMAN and JOKER universes are connected and JOKER was an origin movie and now we have the sequel?

JETT SAYS: No.

Blue/gray, Black/gray, or all-black Batsuit?

JETT SAYS: Black.  If it has gray in it or is all black, I’m good with both.  No blue at all.

Jett, do you think THE BATMAN will be your favorite Batman movie?

JETT SAYS: If so, it will have to overcome BATMAN BEGINS as my favorite.  I will say that THE BATMAN seems to jibe with my personal Batman sensibilities — i.e. “My Batman” — more than even THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY.

After THE FLASH movie coming out in November 2022, is it very likely that Michael Keaton’s Batman will get his own movie again?

JETT SAYS: Very likely?  No.  Possible?  Yes.  When Keaton signed on for THE FLASH, I believe the plan was to have him appear as an older Batman and/or Bruce Wayne in another DC on film project — possibly some sort of riff off of BATMAN BEGINS/THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.  Fingers crossed it happens.

2 questions…

1) When do you think we will get to see Keaton in costume for THE FLASH or do you think they can keep it under wraps until the movie hits the big screen.

2) Like you, I am not a fan of a young kid being Robin, so with that being said any any chance we can finally get a Nightwing movie with Keaton as Batman as a mentor, that covers Dick Grayson as an adult with a short flashback or a talk with Bruce about his past? 

JETT SAYS: 1) I hope they can hold off until the film, but I doubt it because Keaton’s Batman will be one of the focuses — if not THE focus — on the film when it comes to marketing.

2) I think Nightwing was kicked around using Keaton’s aged Bruce Wayne in a move that riffs off of BATMAN BEYOND/THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.  But so were several other potential characters — including Batgirl, allegedly — as the Bat-successor to Keaton’s Batman.

With the announcement that Warner animation is gonna do a CGI DC movie, do you think they might do a KINGDOM COME adaptation in that format?

JETT SAYS: I’d love for that to happen, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.  My preference would be for KINGDOM COME to get the WATCHMEN treatment on HBO Max as a live-action limited/prestige series

Considering the state of the pandemic and box office returns as of late, how do you think The Batman will perform 5 months from now? Also, do you think WB/AT&T will avoid streaming on HBO Max simultaneously?

— Patrick Johnson (@pattythebat) November 5, 2021

JETT SAYS: I think it’s going to do just fine at the box office.  I’m not expecting a $1 billion+ like THE DARK KNIGHT and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (those days for any film may be over), but it’ll perform well.  As far as the second part of your question, Warner Bros. has already announced that THE BATMAN and all of their 2022 tentpole films will be exclusive to theaters for at least 45 days.

Do you think Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne will be a likable dude or a jerk?

JETT SAYS: I believe that there will be no difference between Bruce Wayne and Batman in the film and part of the journey the audience will take with BW is him finding his way, if you will.  It seems that in THE BATMAN, Bruce is totally lost within The Batman.  It appears that Bruce’s actions are noble, but we may not like his tactics.  We’ll be rooting for him to become the Batman we all know and love.

Jett, what are a couple villains from the gallery that you’d like to see in sequels?

— Jeff Orr (@jdjayhawk) November 5, 2021

JETT SAYS: Two-Face, Hugo Strange, and, of course, The Joker.  As long as they are superpowered or supernatural, I’m probably good.

I want to word this right because I mean no offense and I think it’d be an awesome take on the character. Is Colin Farrell’s Penguin gay? Just going by how he says to Batman “Take it easy, sweetheart,” it’d be a cool new spin to add more depth!

JETT SAYS: The Penguin calling Batman “sweetheart” doesn’t have anything to do with the character being Gay or straight.  Personally, Oz Cobblepott’s sexual preference in THE BATMAN doesn’t matter to me in the least and wouldn’t add nor take away anything from the character.

Can you please teach some Batman history and explain to me this: was Frank Miller’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS the start of the dark version of Batman and more or less as we know him for the last decades until today? Would Tim Burton’s BATMAN exist if it wasn’t for Miller’s graphic novel? What was the situation with the comic books in the early 1980s before TDKR was released?

JETT SAYS: Batman actually returned to his “dark and serious” roots in 1969 starting with BATMAN #217 when Dick Grayson went off the college and Bruce Wayne decided to leave Wayne Manor and set up “shop,” if you will, in a penthouse in downtown Gotham City.

Through the 1970s, the talent on BATMAN and DETECTIVE —  Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams, Len Wein, Marshall Rogers, Steve Englehart, and others — solidified a more mature and dark version of The Caped Crusader.

Miller’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS debuted a decade and a half later and it — along with WATCHMEN — is credited for bringing comics more into the mainstream.  And yes, I’d say that without TDKR showing Warner Bros. that Batman — in particular a dark and serious incarnation of the character — could appeal to the general audience, BATMAN ’89 might not have happened…at least not in 1989 and not the particular project.

RELATED: Michael Uslan’s Most Important Batman Comics Ever!

2 questions…

1) Since a Reeves Joker is inevitable, what actor would you like to see play The Joker? 2) As someone who runs a Bat-site have you gotten more excitement from followers of the site from Reeves’ Batman or Keaton’s Return as Batman (even though it’s a Flash film)? Personally, I’m more psyched to see Keaton even though it’s a glorified cameo.

JETT SAYS: Here you go…

1) A great actor.

2) The level of interest in THE BATMAN is on par with that of THE DARK KNIGHT and RISES based on anecdotal information via running BOF.  I’m not saying that THE BATMAN is going to make over a billion dollars at the box office, but folks are geeked for this film.  AND…

Michael Keaton’s turn as an older Batman/Bruce Wayne in THE FLASH is not a glorified cameo — he’s essentially the second lead of the film.  And yes, BOF’ers and I myself are also very excited to see him as Batman again.

In the teaser for THE FLASH, we see two shots in the Batcave. One with Barry standing near a large oval-shaped waterfall entrance, and the rear cowl shot of Batman facing said waterfall entrance. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Keaton’s cave never featured a waterfall. But Bale’s did. Might we be seeing another version of Batman besides Keaton and Affleck in this film?

JETT SAYS: I won’t speak in absolutes here, but I’m pretty sure that Christian Bale’s Batman and/or Bruce Wayne will not appear in THE FLASH.  I don’t remember seeing a waterfall in B89 or RETURNS, but that doesn’t mean that one didn’t exist.

What tricks are left up DC’s sleeve before THE BATMAN drops next month?

JETT SAYS: I’m assuming you meant to say “next year” because THE BATMAN‘s release date is March 4, 2022.  With that said, it’s Warner Bros., not DC Comics, that’s in charge of THE BATMAN including marketing and promoting the film, and I expect things to ramp up significantly (and they kinda already have) between now and March 2022.  We talked a bit about this on the latest BOF Social Hour Podcast (#38).  Check it out!

Do you think Pattinson will be the first actor to spend more time on screen in the Batsuit than as Bruce Wayne [in THE BATMAN]?

JETT SAYS: Very possible…especially since there’s no separation it seems between Bruce Wayne and Batman.  We talked about this too on the latest BOF Social Hour Podcast (#38).

This may be too late but…

When THE BATMAN was in earlier development was you expecting the grounded take we are getting or something more fantastical?

JETT SAYS: I was always expecting some sort of grounded approach once Matt Reeves came on board.  Frankly, that take on Batman appeals more to the general audience than having him coexisting with superpowered/magical/ beings and aliens.  Hell, I’m not the general audience — I’m a lifelong, diehard Batman fan — and the “relatively realistic” approach to the character appeals more to me as well.

Bill, are you going to sit next to Peter Verra when you see THE BATMAN in the theater (“Thee-ate-er”)?

JETT SAYS: I’ll be sitting next “Announcer Rachel” LOL!