AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was supposed to be the BOF Mailbag for June 2022. However, I went on a short vacation to Memphis, Tennessee to visit Graceland/Sun Records/Beale Street, so I had to push it back. So now it’s the “Independence Da 2022 BOF Mailbag”…enjoy!
I am a history nerd and I was a history teacher (and football coach) for 30 years. And since I still consider myself a teacher, he’s today’s lesson in honor of today’s U.S. holiday…
It’s called “Independence Day” and NOT “The 4th of July!” The former is the official name for the holiday and the latter is simply a colloquialism.
The latter is simply the date on which the event took place! No one calls New Year’s Day “The 1st of January!”
Rant over and happy B-day U.S.A.
This is the BOF Mailbag for U.S. INDEPENDENCE DAY 2022. Let’s roll! – Bill “Jett” Ramey
Any word on when The Penguin series is going to start shooting?
JETT SAYS: I have not. If I were to guess, I figure later this year or early 2023.
Let’s say that THE FLASH is ahead of AQUAMAN 2 in post-production right now…do you think it would be wise for WB to go ahead and swap those release dates and rid themselves of this Miller situation ASAP and move on to the Michael Keaton phase as fast as possible? While it may be somewhat true about the general audience not knowing what’s going on, I have had multiple family members who aren’t even remotely fans of the genre task me about it…and with some of his latest accusations being very serious, I can’t imagine waiting for this to blow over is going to work much longer.
JETT SAYS: Dude, I have NO idea what’s going to happen. I do know this: WB ain’t going to recast and reshoot THE FLASH…too big and expensive of a film.
How hard does The Penguin’s car need to be hit, and subsequently flip, before his airbag goes off?
JETT SAYS: Apparently, it would’ve had to be hit head-on by an 18-wheeler going 125 MPH, or…he needs to sue the manufacturer of his car for having faulty airbags.
I recently re-watched the original SUPERMAN (1978) and SPIDER-MAN (2002) films, and it struck me how “comic-booky” both films are, with a very heart-warming and crowd-pleasing storyline and tone. Do you think Batman has ever received a similar treatment, and, if so, which films would you say are most comparable to these two films? And if not, could you ever see the Batman character getting a similar sort of “comic-booky” and more light-hearted treatment on film?
JETT SAYS: BATMAN FOREVER says “HI!”
Which movie are you gonna watch more in theAters: The Batman or Elvis? 😎
— Jamesy Man (@Jamzarm) June 27, 2022
JETT SAYS: As much as I love Elvis and ELVIS, THE BATMAN will be the “winner” of that competition. Right now, I’ve seen ELVIS twice in the theater and I’m planning on 2 more in-theater viewings here shortly.
Is there any chance we’ll see the new Batman using firearms (no live ammo), smoke, gas, explosives, and a kite-type drone? Throwing Batarangs and only working with fists in looks outdated in the era of JOHN WICK. In BATMAN BEINGS, Nolan’s Batman shot one of Scarecrow’s thugs in the leg during a fight, and it was the most Batman movie until we got THE BATMAN.
JETT SAYS: Huh?
First of all, Batman in THE BATMAN is FAR from being the fully-formed Dark Knight we all know and love. So I figure we’ll see him include more Bat-gadgets as the story progresses over the course of the next 2 or 3 films. Secondly, I couldn’t disagree more that Batman being a street-level fighter is outdated…and I have no idea what JOHN WICK has to do with it. Finally, WTF are you talking about with Batman shooting one of The Scarecrow’s thugs in the leg in BATMAN BEGINS? Chris Nolan’s Batman as portrayed by Christian Bale did not carry a firearm nor did she shoot anyone in the leg with it. And when did The Scarecrow have “Scarecrow Thugs?”
UPDATE: I went back and rewatched what I think is the scene you were referring to in BATMAN BEGINS. This…?
OK, NOW your comment/question is a little clear. Batman didn’t pull out a firearm and shoot a guy in the leg. One of Crane’s “goons” did when Batman took him down. And my interpretation is that these were not “Scarecrow Goons,” They were a paramilitary outfit sent there by Ra’s Al Ghul for “security” and to allow Crane to carry out his part of Ra’s plan — which was to poison Gotham’s water supply with Crane’s fear toxin.
Now that THE BATMAN is your favorite Batman movie, have your feelings on The Riddler as a character changed at all? I think I remember you saying before that even though you liked him, he wasn’t up there with some of your favorite villains like The Joker and Two-Face for example. Did Paul Dano’s performance move the character up your list at all?
JETT SAYS: I’ve never hated The Riddler as a Batman character and I know — mainly due to the 60s TV series — that he’s considered one of the “Big 4.” There have been some cool interpretations of The Riddler in the more recent comics that I found interesting. But I will say that Matt Reeves’ take on the character in THE BATMAN just might be my favorite. Sometimes a director’s take on a Batman character is either an improvement on or enhances the source material (i.e. Christopher Nolan’s take on Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES). But still, The Ridder probably remains at the same spot in my personal rankings of Batman villains.
With all the ups and downs that Batman (the character) on film has had, what overall lessons do you think WB has learned? What have learned always works? What have they learned to never do again? Have they truly learned from failures, or only from successes?
JETT SAYS: Well, I’d say that overall, Warner Bros. has had a lot of success with Batman on film. So it’s not like the film franchise has been this huge dumpster fire over the last 30-plus years that caused them to make HUGE changes from film to film.
I think the biggest mistake they made and learned from was with BATMAN & ROBIN and the fact it was a cash-grab where the tie-ins and merchandise were more important than the quality of the film.
Bill; Alfred’s intro scene where he and Bruce argue about Wayne Enterprises’ financial status seems like a great opportunity to bring Lucius Fox into the sequel. Do you think we will see him at some point?
— Tom Pinsonneault (@TomPinsonneaul2) June 27, 2022
JETT SAYS: Perhaps. I’m good with Matt Reeves bringing Lucius Fox into THE BATMAN UNIVERSE…I just hope his take on the character is different than that of Chris Nolan’s in THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY. While I loved that interpretation and Morgan Freeman’s portrayal, I don’t think we need him to be Batman’s version of “Q” again. Let Bruce Wayne keep making his “wonderful toys” himself and let LF run Wayne Enterprises.
Top five live-action Batman on film Bat-Symbols? Thanks for what you do!
JETT SAYS: 5) THE DARK KNIGHT/RISES, 4) BATMAN FOREVER (yellow oval version), 3) THE BATMAN, 2) BATMAN v SUPERMAN, 1) BATMAN BEGINS.
What is the point of maintaining a shared universe, if WB already made it clear that they have neither an over-arching story nor any plans to cross-over characters? To me, it makes no sense to keep the DCEU around if there is no intention of intersecting storylines. I wonder, is the real plan to phase out all DCEU properties in favor of isolated projects like THE BATMAN and JOKER?
JETT SAYS: Who says they can’t do both? And if one knows the history of DC Comics, then one should know that doing both echos what DC has done since 1938. DC on film at Warner Bros. doesn’t have to be like/copy Disney/Marvel Films and the MCU…nor should it.
Do you think Todd Philips will make JOKER: FOLIE a DEAUX into an actual musical? It seems like a bold, but an alienating idea in my opinion.
JETT SAYS: That seems to be the plan.
First THE BATMAN and now ELVIS…good times for us Bat-King Of Rock and Roll fans in 2022! In other news this JOKER 2 musical idea got me scratching my head. It’s Bat-related, so of course, I will watch it. But wow…that news got me down in the dumps what are your thoughts?
JETT SAYS: Yeah, 2022 has been a great year for me personally fandom-wise. All I need now is my beloved Dallas Cowboys to win a playoff game or 2! As far as JOKER 2 being a musical…
I think it’s an absolutely brilliant idea! Frankly, I was against a sequel to JOKER until I learned of Todd Phillips’ plan to make it a musical. Now, I’m totally on board. I’d say that this is an example of why we all need to let the creatives create while we fans fan…you know what I mean?
With the cast problems for Flash/Aquaman and generally the DC brand not being that strong, do you think it might be a good idea to take a bit of a break and focus on a Batman cinematic/streaming universe and then relaunch the DCEU in a couple of years?
— WW (@Batboat77) June 27, 2022
JETT SAYS: I think the drama surrounding a certain member of the cast of AQUAMAN 2 is a non-issue and that film will be just fine. With THE FLASH, I’m not so sure. While I do believe that most people are absolutely oblivious to Mr. Miller’s, ahem, shenanigans, if crazy shit is still going on with him come next year, then yeah, it’s going to be an issue. But that movie is coming out regardless.
As far as the “DCEU,” WB will keep making DC films…as they should. They don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Is THE JOKER going to be featured in the Arkham HBO Max series, or be held for the cinema?
JETT SAYS: If I had to guess, The Joker will turn up in ARKHAM on HBOM. Will he be featured” — as a main character? I don’t think so.
Any word on the combined cut of THE LONG HALLOWEEN animated films?
JETT SAYS: I have not heard anything about that, sorry. But it’ll happen soon enough.
What ideal color of suit do you want in a Batman future film?
JETT SAYS: Black. I do not get why anyone would want Batman to sport a cowl, cape, boots, and gloves that are blue?
If you could cast Austin Butler as any Batman character for a movie, which character would you choose?
JETT SAYS: Harvey Dent!
