Chris Nolan talks Batman, Superman

Posted by Ali at 21:38 on 10 Mar 2010

You. Shush. Christopher Nolan is talking. When you've made two awesome Batman movies, then you can talk. In the meantime, shut your word-hole and hear what the man has to say. It's about superheroes!

It's rare that Christopher Nolan opens his mouth to the press; usually when he does, every word is pained over and twisted until we end up with stories like 'Chris Nolan won't say if he'll direct Batman 3'. The man is held in such high-esteem, he can actually create anti-news.

Strange, then, that Nolan has been particularly forthcoming to the LA Times, who wagged chins with the director about his two major irons in the fire: Batman and Superman.

Frustratingly, there's still scant detail to prey upon, but Nolan hints at a promising conclusion to his Batman trilogy and a tantalising new beginning for Superman. Speaking of his sequel to The Dark Knight, Nolan said:

"The key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story…I'm very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we've done with the characters.

"My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these thing don't go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we're telling."

Notice the total lack of any actual information, but hey, we won't blame the guy for holding his cards close to his chest. Inception is mystery enough for us right now. Mind-crimes indeed. You sly dog, Christopher.

The matter of The Man Of Steel is a different kettle of Kryptonine. Nolan, who confirms that he won't direct the Superman reboot but will mentor its production, has revealed that writer David Goyer (spellcheck suggestion: David Goyter) is taking Kal-El in an exciting new direction.

"It's very exciting, we have a fantastic story. And we feel we can do it right. We know the milieu, if you will, we know the genre and how to get it done right…[it] is a way of approaching the story I've never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting."

Interestingly, Nolan states that, "We're approaching it in a way not dissimiliar to [the Batman films]", which could be interpreted as him using the hack director's phrase of the decade, 'gritty reboot'. But Nolan is no fool, and knows that Batman and Superman are different animals entirely, ending speculation of a crossover by saying, "They have nothing to do with each other." Someone's been reading this site...

So, Batman still on track, Superman will be a bit different. And that, folks, is how you write 500 words without actually saying anything new at all. Anti-news. The bastard.