Last year, the news broke that Armie Hammer, whose career came to a screeching halt in 2021 following some pretty disturbing allegations of sexual misconduct, had been cast as the lead in a movie called The Dark Knight from director Uwe Boll.
Based on an original script by Boll, Hammer plays Michael Sanders, a man "who takes justice into his own hands as he sets out to hunt down criminals. While his crusade transforms him into a social media sensation and a hero in the eyes of the public, the local police chief sees him as a menace to society and aims to take him down."
“The story of The Dark Knight couldn’t be a more current topic, and I’m excited to bring it to life with this excellent cast,” said Boll in a statement (via Variety).
We knew it would only be a matter of time before Warner Bros. had something to say about that title, and sure enough, the notorious filmmaker was soon hit with a cease and desist, which he chose to ignore.
"DC and Warner already contacted and said I can't use the title. I understand that but I told them, 'Guys, remember 'Rampage,' the Rock movie? You used my title," Boll revealed on The Uwe Boll Podcast Network (via World of Reel). "The fact that they did that, and called me for permission, they could show gratefulness and say, listen it's not a Batman movie and you can use the title."
"Most of the DC and Marvel films suck," he added. "They're too long and with endless CGI, and everything is fake and the stories suck. Especially Batman, how many Batmans do we want to watch? They suck."
Yeah... he changed the title to Citizen Vigilante.
Not too surprisingly, the movie has been torn apart by critics, but it has also proven to be highly controversial and was actually banned in Boll's home country of Germany for its "abhorrent violence" and "anti-migrant stance."
As you can imagine, Boll hasn't taken this very well, and has directed much of his ire at Supergirl (which he seems to view as competition). The filmmaker has reposted some incredibly insulting AI videos on his X account and has now shared an AI-generated image of Hammer's character standing on a prone Woman of Tomorrow.
The Lone Ranger and The Social Network star was accused of sexual abuse (involving cannibalistic and BDSM fetishes) by several women, but The Los Angeles County D.A.’s office decided not to file any charges against the actor following a lengthy investigation by the LAPD.
During a recent podcast interview, Hammer said that his acting career was back on track, and things had picked up so much that he’s started to turn jobs down. “My dance card’s getting pretty full,” he said. “That first job that I turned down after four years of this shit, I mean, it was the best feeling I’ve ever had.”
Fictional characters though they may be, an image of a man who has been accused of such horrific abuse standing over the body of a young woman has stirred up a lot of backlash against Boll, which is almost certainly what he's counting on.