Should Chris Nolan Direct The Batman?

DC Movie fans recently got a major upset when it was announced that Ben Affleck had dropped out of directing The Batman. Since then, there’s been buzz about who could step in to take over the director’s chair, with a shortlist of possible directors having recently been revealed.

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However, while DC Films and Warner Bros. are back on the search for a Batman director, there’s been growing (rumor?)(fans wishes?) for Dark Knight Trilogy director Chris Nolan to direct The Batman.

The real question on a lot of people’s minds is: Should Chris Nolan direct The Batman?

It Would Make Fanboy Dreams Come True

Could you imagine the announcement that Chris Nolan was coming back to direct The Batman? The fanboy and fangirl masses would be thrown into an uproar!

Nolan’s return would lure in more hardcore geeks and comic book fans than just about any other director that took the job.

…And that includes the haters that now love to downplay Nolan’s accomplishments with the Dark Knight Trilogy.

It Would Lure Big Mainstream Crowds

The Dark Knight Trilogy was a comic book movie milestone, in part, because it catapulted the genre to new heights of cinematic artistry, as well as mainstream appeal.

Clearly, superhero movies have gone mainstream in the time since – but not everyone is as heavily invested in the massive geeky universes that studios like Marvel and DC have built.

However, if word got out that the next Batman movie had both Ben Affleck and Chris Nolan involved, mainstream audiences would show up in droves.

Chris Nolan Returning to the DCEU Batman

It Could Rekindle His Passion

Christopher Nolan took on the Batman franchise because he loved the character, his world, mythos and the deeper themes, metaphors, and iconography that goes with him.

After The Dark Knight, however, it was clear that Nolan started to feel fatigued from all the fan chatter, the endless questions, demands, and constant attempt to spoil the secrets of his Dark Knight Rises script. In the end, TDKR felt more like Nolan fulfilling an obligation than pursuing a passion. But The Batman could be the chance to bring him back to that original love of the character.

Nolan made The Dark Knight Trilogy according to his own rules (“realistic” depiction, no other DC Universe connections, etc…), but making a Batman movie within a DCEU would be a much different challenge. We know that Nolan loves a challenge, and maybe his grounded view could balance out the DCEU elements and make them work.

He’s the Best Match For Affleck

Zack Snyder may seem like a great replacement for Ben Affleck in the director’s chair – but if we’re talking about filmmakers with similar styles and approach to their material, Nolan and Affleck would be a great match.

Visually, the two are similar in terms of how they stage and frame shots, or execute action sequences; both like to be heavily involved in the creative architecture of the film (writing, producing, directing); and both have signature stylistic flares that make them true cinematic Auteurs.

Best of all, they can balance each other’s flaws: Nolan has more cerebral script ideas and can pull off bigger, more ambitious set pieces and sequences; Affleck, meanwhile, has harder-hitting action chops, better sense of character and arc, and a greater talent for injecting heart and sentiment into even the grittiest worlds (crooks, gangsters, etc…).

Christopher Nolan Ben Affleck The Batman

It’s Opportunity For a Better Finish

The sad truth is: Chris Nolan never completed the perfect trilogy that fans once thought he may pull off. After Batman Begins rekindled the franchise, The Dark Knight came along catapulted things to the next level. In some ways, The Dark Knight Rises was never going to live up to the hype of its predecessor, but most fans felt underwhelmed on a level that goes beyond Dark Knight withdraw.

With the Dark Knight Rises being a muted and slightly misconceived experience (one that hardly featured Batman in costume, and was overstuffed with characters and storylines), Nolan deserves an opportunity to make a final Batman film that not only lives up to the Dark Knight but actually overshadows it. The Batman is the best (ready: only) hope for that.