Comic book fans know that The Dark Knight Returns was a huge inspiration for Zack Snyder when he made Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. A lot of the plot stemmed from Frank Miller’s iconic graphic novel where an older, jaded Bruce Wayne along with his mech-suit confronted and succeeded (with a little help from Green Arrow) against Superman.
Though we have already seen a live-action version battle between Gotham’s Bat and Metropolis’s Man of Steel, Snyder is not opposed to doing something closer to the 1986 source material.
“I am still obsessed with that comic book,” the director mentioned on a livestream with Nerd Queens. “I always had this fantasy, that I go, ‘Ok, maybe in a couple years down the road I just one-off — I just do Dark Knight Returns with some crusty, old Batman.’”
It remains a “dream” project for Zack Snyder. He described his vision for The Dark Knight Returns as “dirty and gritty.”
“It’s just a great [story]. I’ve ripped it off so much, that I’ve almost done it, but I do feel like I’ve only homaged it. I haven’t really taken the heart of it … People haven’t really experienced it as a movie, that story. It still can be made.”
Fighting crime dressed as a bat is what fascinates Snyder the most. “Frankly, the choice of being Batman is a weird choice,” Snyder said. “So anything that examines the why of Batman, I’m into because I think it’s so iconic, but when you actually break it down, it becomes a thing to think about.”
During the Dawn of Justice production, he told actor Ben Affleck: “I said, ‘Ben, you’re not the classic monk warrior Batman. You’re more broken than that in the sense that you drink too much, you take painkillers, you f*** to forget’ … It would be amazing if he found a relationship, but I don’t know if that’s in the cards for him. I really don’t. Maybe like Catwoman or something, I don’t know.”
It would seem that the only difference between Batman and the baddies he beats up is his choice to stay on the side of the law.
“Pretty much everyone he’s ever loved has been murdered by a criminal,” Snyder said, later adding: “He’s always gonna sign up for another tour. He’s [always] gonna go back” to fighting for justice in Gotham.
Actress Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor) who Snyder worked with on Sucker Punch and Watchmen was suggested to play Catwoman. He came up with a scenario where Batman would end up with her.
“You would have to say, ‘Ok, there’s a flashback to 10 years ago where they were a thing and then he had to arrest her, or I don’t know what happened. But he had to let her go and that tweaked him.’ And who knows what she’s doing now? She’s stealing antiquities or something and he needs to retire and they could find each other. I do think Carla is a good [choice],” Snyder said.
The anticipated Justice League Zack Snyder cut arrives on HBO Max sometime in 2021. A one-off, live-action The Dark Knight Returns may be something nice to see, but might be more redundant than entertaining. But hey, who doesn’t want more Batman and Superman on screen.
Check out the full livestream video below:
Featured Image: DC Comics/Frank Miller/Klaus Janson
Source: Nerd Queens
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