Not wasting any time, WB may bring a new Batman franchise to theaters in 2016

With THE DARK KNIGHT RISES only having been in theaters for two weeks, DC and Warner Bros are already setting the timetable for Batman’s return to the big screen.

Though posted back in June, this story over at Cosmic Book News claims a source has WB bringing a new Batman film after the release of MAN OF STEEL in 2013 and the purported JUSTICE LEAGUE movie after that.

The source goes on to claim “it will not be an origin story, but will feature a Batman who is entering his second year as a hero. The film may also be called THE BATMAN, though I can’t be sure on that as the 2004 animated series was of the same title which featured a Batman in his third year.”

Interesting. Adapting THE BATMAN cartoon would be an interesting idea as it differs greatly from all other source material for the character. In THE BATMAN, Bruce Wayne is 26 years old. Along with a secret Batcave, high tech Batmobile, and a new technology he created called the Bat-Wave. Alfred was one of the few characters retained from the original comics. New characters include Ethan Bennett, a cop who believes Batman is needed in Gotham, and at odds with Chief Angel Rojas who has no room for vigilantes, and Ellen Yin, Bennett’s partner who is torn between her belief in law and order and her personal feelings toward Batman. Both Bennett and Yin are charged with capturing the Batman throughout Season 1. Villains included Rupert Thorne, The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Firefly , Ventriloquist and Scarface, Man-Bat, Cluemaster, and Bane.

This would definitely make for a much more comic-like environment, unlike Nolan’s realistic DARK KNIGHT universe. I think this would be the right direction to take for a reboot: skip the origin and take the character in a different direction than any of the previous films. What do you think about this idea for rebooting The Caped Crusader?