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The March 2022 BOF Mailbag

Bill "Jett" Ramey

The last couple of months have been crazy busy — crazy, but tremendously fun — covering THE BATMAN.  As a result, I neglected the ‘ol BOF Mailbag.

But it’s BACK!

Thanks for all of yall’s questions and let’s get to ’em! – Bill “Jett” Ramey

At this point, THE BATMAN is already a successful film and sequels are a given. But it doesn’t look like its gonna cross $1B worldwide. It might not even outgross BvS. Wouldn’t this qualify as having underperformed akin to MOS? Or, does WB consider these results a win given how hit-and-miss their films have been ever since the conclusion of THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY?

JETT SAYS: I’m SO happy you asked this question.

The difference between THE BATMAN and MOS (which I borderline love and will defend) is this:  TB is an all-around success at the box office, it was reviewed very well, the general movie-going audience digs it, and fans overall love it.  With MOS, it underperformed at the box office, was reviewed poorly overall (I disagree with those reviews), and the mainstream audience didn’t much care for it.  Plus, when MOS came out in 2013 — in the wake of THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY and with Christopher Nolan’s involvement — WB was expecting it to do MUCH better than it did critically, amongst fans, with the general audience, and of course, at the box office.

In terms of BvS, ditto. Furthermore, TB will surpass BvS‘s domestic box office within the next week to 10 days and will indeed give its global cume a run for its money.

So no, I don’t think that WB considers THE BATMAN a “relative success,” if you will…nor is it one.  It’s a winner because it exceeded expectations all-around.

 

JETT SAYS: I believe it was simply an adrenalin concoction.  I guess if you want to take it as a nod to Venom, that’s more than OK.

JETT SAYS: The same YEAR ONE script he did with Frank Miller? Probably not because it was so off the mark when it comes to core Batman mythology. I will say that while that sort of Batman film was impossible back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, that’s not totally the case nowadays.  Frankly, Warner Bros. deserves some props for having the balls to allow Matt Reeves to make THE BATMAN.  They could’ve played it safe and went with a “fun” Batman movie, but they let Reeves make the Batman film he wanted to make…and their faith in him has paid off.

Do you think both THE PENGUIN and ARKHAM HBO Max shows will be a limited series or will they potentially each have more than one season?

JETT SAYS: I believe both will be limited series for 1 season.

JETT SAYS: I’m looking forward to more world-building and seeing Bruce Wayne’s evolution to being the complete and fully-formed Batman that will take place not just in the sequel, but subsequent films as well.

JETT SAYS: From what I’ve heard, they are starting to ramp up production and it will likely debut sometime in 2023.

JETT SAYS: I think it stays…though it’s possible that this Batman comes up with something that allows him to “fly” or “glide” and adds that to his arsenal. I don’t believe they’ll have to cape being the actual glider as we saw in THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY.

JETT SAYS: I do not believe a showrunner for ARKHAM has been announced yet. I’m sure that’ll be happening soon.

Do you think three is the limit on Batman films Reeves will make? Furthermore, do you think WB will reboot yet again when he’s done, or let this series continue?

JETT SAYS: I’m not sure if Matt Reeves has set a limit for himself when it comes to making Batman movies.  I mean, he’s a HUGE fan of the character and one of his goals in addition to making a Batman movie was to create a Batman universe.  Maybe he does 4 or 5 films rather than a trilogy of 3.  Regardless, I expect that once Reeves is done, the Batman film series will be given to another filmmaker to reimage the character the way he sees fit…just like Reeves and Chris Nolan did.

JETT SAYS: I suspect that all of the projects in THE BATMAN UNIVERSE will be produced by Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark.  RP does have a production deal with WB, so it’s not totally out of the question, but I believe that’s for non-Batman projects for WB.

JETT SAYS: I’m not 100% for certain, but I’m pretty sure those were only found in the U.K.

What are your top 3 BOF utility belt moments?

JETT SAYS: In no particular order…

1) Shark Repellant Bat-Spray from BATMAN ’66, 2) “See that thing on my belt? Grab it. And whatever you do, don’t let go!” from BATMAN ’89, and 3) Adrenaline injection from THE BATMAN.

JETT SAYS: Oh man, I have no idea! I have no idea if I still have any of my old VHS tapes of Batman movies, but I will say that I went through 3 VHS tapes of BATMAN ’89! Currently, I have everything on Blu-ray — live-action movies, animated movies, the 60s TV series, and all the animated series.  And no, I never had BATMAN BEGINS on VHS…I didn’t even know it got a release on that format!

What about a reboot of the 1960s BATMAN TV series? Could be a hoot.

JETT SAYS: I’m not sure I would be down with that…and I say that as someone who LOVES the Adam West series.  Maybe that’s why I wouldn’t be on board, you know?  It’s so classic and iconic, it shouldn’t be messed with or rebooted.

JETT SAYS: Perhaps, but I think that will come via the ARKHAM series.

JETT SAYS: Great question! I’ve also thought about that and discussed it on one of the recent BOF Social Hour Podcasts. I could totally see Sal Maroni being released from prison because of the shenanigans by the GCPD and GC District Attorney’s Office. Perhaps he’ll end up being a character in THE PENGUIN series who will challenge Oz Cobblepott as Gotham’s most powerful gangster.

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