Now before I start the article, I would just like to say I love what Nolan has done with Batman. However, I do appreciate there are some fans who are not too fond of Nolan's incarnation and to a certain extent I can see where they are coming from. During this article I will go over what direction I think the new film should take visually.
Now, in my opinion I feel the next Batman reboot will have a difficult time trying to follow in the footsteps of Nolan's work if they try to replicate his style. Therefore I have a suggestion. Go for the style of Sin City. I personally believe this would be a good approach to take. Instead of going for gritty and real in the next interpretation, they should go with a very comic book atmosphere. I feel that going down the Sin City route visually would be a great choice to make.
I think many people fear that when the Christopher Nolan films end, Batman could potentially go back to his campy roots (Batman and Robin). This however, does not need to be the case. If it goes with the visual style of Sin City, there could be potential to make the films incredibly dark and haunting. I also think it would be very cool if the next interpretations cape is completely animated, allowing for very comic book stylised poses and looks.
I feel this style would allow for some truly creative and breathtaking moments. Gotham City could be a very dark place and it could stem more into the style of the Arkham video games. You could have characters like Killer Croc and Hush in this version and it wouldn't bend the viewer's disbelief because the world they inhabit would require them to do that anyway.
If it took the comic book style approach, it would open up opportunities to include Robin and other members of the Bat family. I personally am a fan of highly stylised movies and I feel it would suit a new Batman Universe. The reason why I preferred Batman Begins to TDK is because of it's visual style. It had those shots of Batman stood like a gargoyle on top of the buildings above, looking down upon Gotham City. This is what I feel the potential reboot needs to capitalise on. Make the cape over the top like it is in some of the comics. The great thing about Batman is that he comes from such a visually striking background. It opens up a wide variety of options when it comes to the physical representation of the character.
I think what is very important, is what The Avengers has done for CBM's. What worked so well in that film is the fact it accepts it is a comic book movie. It knows what it is and that gives it much more room to play with concepts that would not necessarily take place in our reality. If DC are looking to do a Justice League movie, this is the direction they need to take Batman in for it to work. Nolan's Batman would not fit into that world, in my opinion, so the only way for it to work is if it embraces the comic books visually in the next film.
So what do you guys think ? What direction visually do you feel the new Batman film should take ?