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The March/Spring Break 2023 BOF Mailbag

Bill "Jett" Ramey

Happy Spring Break 2023!

So much for “Spring” break in my area of Texas — Dallas/Ft. Worth.  We’re supposed to have lows in the 30s/highs in the 50s for the next week with a tornado and some hail mixed in this Thursday. I’ll take advantage of the cooler weather and cook up some gumbo this week.  Need to get 1 more in because it’ll be hotter than Hades here very soon.

Thanks for all the questions, let’s get to ’em! – Bill “Jett” Ramey

How much of an evolution of the Batsuit will we see [in THE BATMAN: PART II]? I know he makes his own, but will this one be a touch sleeker than the first, while keeping the overall feel?

JETT SAYS: I think Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) will continue to make his own Batstuff in the upcoming sequel and that includes the Batsuit.  I figure it’ll be very similar to what he wore in THE BATMAN, but with some improvements.  Remember, it appears that he only had 1 suit and that thing wasn’t in the best of shape at the end of the first film.  I gotta say I really love how this Batman makes his own Batman things…very cool!

I think they will run it back and ride the big 4 villains again (Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Joker) just like [BATMAN] ‘66 with the possibility/hope that we get Dent. No new or splashy rogues intros. Thoughts?

JETT SAYS: I absolutely do believe that we’ll see all four of those characters again over the course of the next 2 films that will finish THE BATMAN TRILOGY.  I do also expect that Matt Reeves will bring other Batman characters into this universe as well…though the ones he uses will have to fit the story that’s being told.  When it comes to Harvey Dent, it’s just a no-brainer that he’ll show up at some point…hell, maybe even in THE PENGUIN.

Bill, how worried should we be that THE BATMAN: PART III could be in jeopardy?

JETT SAYS: Percentage-wise…

I don’t know why I feel like this, but I am convinced Sasha Calle is gonna be a highlight of THE FLASH and steal the movie. But with the upcoming reset and start of the DCU, do you think her appearance will be a one-off, or could we see her again as the DCU Supergirl?

JETT SAYS: The scuttlebutt I’ve heard is that they are recasting for that new DCU Supergirl movie.

What would you say if your favorite Batman trade paperback (or best) and what is your least favorite (worst)?  Could you see Man-Bat actually working in Reeves’ BatVerse?

JETT SAYS: My favorite is BATMAN: YEAR ONE.  My least favorite — which means something I read — was THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN.  The ones that I don’t outright dislike but believe are overrated AF include HUSH, KNIGHTFALL, and NO MAN’S LAND.

As far as your Man-Bat question…

Who is your favorite Batman artist?

JETT SAYS:

JETT SAYS: Colin Farrell’s Oz/”The Penguin” is damn near a no-brainer.  I also think it’s highly likely that Sal Maroni (Clancy Brown) and members of the Falcone family show up as well.

Of all your time covering Batman on film, what has been the craziest idea you have heard of Batman being done on screen, and were there any that fell through that you actually had an interest in seeing?

JETT SAYS: The craziest was, hands down, Darren Aronofsky’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE.  And I say crazy because it strayed significantly from the Batman mythos when it comes to what happened to Bruce Wayne after his parent’s murders through his first year as Batman.  Actually, it’s something that might work today as a DC ELSEWORLDS film, but no way it was happening back in the early 2000s.

As far as projects that didn’t happen that I would’ve loved to have seen, it’s a BATMAN BEYOND movie, no doubt about it.  Here’s hoping it eventually happens — with Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne — especially now that WB/DC Studios has the DC ELSEWORLDS banner.

JETT SAYS: Doubtful, no, and maybe not Two-Face, but as far as his other half…

What Batman comic book storylines do you think will be influences for THE BATMAN: PART II?

JETT SAYS: I don’t see him using specific storylines from the comics — he really didn’t do that for THE BATMAN.  Vibe-wise, I believe both BATMAN: YEAR ONE and THE LONG HALLOWEEN will continue to be influences.  Reeves is such a huge Batman fan I think he’ll pull from lots of Batman comics for PART II just like he did for THE BATMAN.

With Selina leaving Gotham at the end of THE BATMAN and us not knowing yet exactly how much time passes between it and PART II, do you think she returns to town this soon, or they save her for PART III?

JETT SAYS: As I said previously, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz).  Now when we see her Catwoman again, I’m not sure.  If I had to guess, it’ll be in PART III, but I’m purely speculating.  It also wouldn’t surprise me if she gets the HBO spinoff treatment like THE PENGUIN.

Speaking of THE PENGUIN, it picks up right after the events of THE BATMAN and then leads into PART II.  So I don’t think a lot of time will have passed between THE BATMAN and PART II.

JETT SAYS: No idea…haven’t heard anything.  I got a feeling that stuff came via Matt Reeves just spitballing ideas of how to expand THE BATMAN UNIVERSE and might (probably) won’t come to fruition.

Have you heard anything about the spinoff series that’s set in Arkham Asylum?

JETT SAYS: I have not.  Just a guess here, but I think that’s something that might come in between THE BATMAN: PART II and PART III and be sort of the bridge between those films just like THE PENGUIN is between THE BATMAN and PART II.

JETT SAYS: God, I hope so…for A LOT of reasons lol!

Who would you like to see cast as Gotham’s new DA?  And do we still “Believe in Harvey Dent”?

JETT SAYS: 1) A great actor and 2) Of course!

JETT SAYS: My thoughts on the subject can be found right here…

Any educated guess on having The Joker playing an important role in “The Batman: Part. II”? Do you think that “Folie à Deux” might play a role in that decision?

JETT SAYS: I’m sure The Joker (Barry Keoghan) will show up in PART II…but I suspect it’ll be more like in THE BATMAN — if you included the deleted scene with Batman in Arkham — than the character playing a big role in PART II.  Regardless, JOKER: FOLIE à DEUX won’t have any impact on what Matt Reeves does with The Joker in any of his Batman films.

Supposedly he has not yet been cast but could we expect the new DCU Batman to show up in THE FLASH at some point (ending scene or post-credits)? Maybe they have been hiding the news all this time, like with Barry Kheogan’s “Arkham inmate” character in THE BATMAN.

JETT SAYS:

Recently you’ve said that it’s really important for DC and James Gunn (writer and likely director) to get SUPERMAN: LEGACY right and that the general audience doesn’t love Superman the way they do other superheroes. Do you think part of the problem is the quality of Superman movies? I’m of the opinion that WB has done a much better job adapting Batman on film than Superman.

JETT SAYS: Yeah, I 100% believe that SUPERMAN: LEGACY has to be a hit at the box office and be well-received by the general audience.  If not, then the new DCU is going to have a problem.

We’re going to find out if Superman’s lack of bigtime success on the big screen of late — SUPERMAN RETURNS (I didn’t hate it, personally) in 2006 and MAN OF STEEL in 2013 (which I borderline love and have defended) — was due to the quality of the films or lack of interest in Superman overall by the general audience.  I’m of the belief that it’s the latter…but I truly hope SUPERMAN: LEGACY endears the character of the mass audience once again.

I’m hoping we get villains in THE BATMAN: PART II that have not been used yet. Any chance of that?

JETT SAYS: Here’s my take on the villains that appear in a Batman film…

The STORY comes first, and the characters — including the villains — that make sense to that story come next…not the other way around.

Therefore I don’t care if we see Batman characters/villains we’ve seen in previous films in THE BATMAN: PART II, or if Matt Reeves includes some we’ve yet to see get the live-action treatment.  The characters need to make sense for the story that’s being told in the film, bottom line.  And thankfully, that’s what MR did with THE BATMAN and is doing for the sequels.

Are you buying the rumor Ben Affleck is going to direct THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD live-action film?

JETT SAYS: Buying it?  Yes, because Affleck IS going to direct a DCU movie. Might as well be a Batman one. Scuttlebutt tells me it’s more than a rumor.

What’s a take on Batman on a Batman film that no director/studio has not done that you would love to see?

JETT SAYS: A period piece.  Batman set in 1939.

With Colin Farrell just started filming THE PENGUIN TV series — can we expect to get any sneak peek from the upcoming series especially when it comes to a trailer?

JETT SAYS: Yes, absolutely we will.  Probably later this year.

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