No matter how much people lauded Christopher Nolan‘s DARK KNIGHT trilogy or how good Zack Snyder‘s BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE turns out to be, Tim Burton‘s 1989 BATMAN will forever have a place in film history. It was the first true superhero movie since SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE but also the first to give us a damaged comic book story translated perfectly for the big screen. Fast-forward 25 years and the world is flooded with all sorts of superhero movies, all inhabiting shared cinematic universes. So, is there still room for the Tim Burton‘s of the world?
Yahoo Movies UK recently asked Burton if he would be willing to return to the genre that shot him to super-stardom as a director and his answer seemed to leave the door open for a chance, but with one big caveat.
“Marvel, they have their thing and there’s a certain formula to it all which seems to still be working, but how many times can you say ‘you’re wearing a funny costume’ with the tights and stuff? That’s been going on for 20 years now. Yes, we all know that superheroes are damaged individuals. Maybe we need to see a happy superhero? I think there is [another superhero film in me], but I don’t know. You think we need more superhero movies? It keeps on going. It’s amazing how long it’s been going for and it just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Some day people will get sick of it.”
For Tim Burton to say that he wants to see superheroes who are not dark and damaged seems surprising as BATMAN is one of the most damaged superheroes of all time. I would love to see Burton take on something very different than what he has done before. I agree that eventually the Marvel model will burn itself out, but I don’t see it coming for quite a while. Once the studio bombs, relatively speaking, like Pixar did with CARS 2, the cracks in their armor will show and people will start to see the slow decline of their product. But, even Pixar’s decline has been incredibly slow (if at all).
Burton himself has made a series of films of middling quality compared to his past output. Even if ALICE IN WONDERLAND was a box office smash, the movies themselves have all been pretty formulaic: CGI, wacky characters, and Johnny Depp. Maybe switching back to making superhero movies is just what Burton needs to shake himself up. Time will tell.
Burton’s latest film, BIG EYES, opens Christmas Day.