‘Dark Knight’ director Christopher Nolan won’t be involved with ‘Justice League’ movie

With rave reviews and billions of dollars in ticket sales, director Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy set the bar very high for all comic book movies to follow. So, could Warner Bros. really be faulted for putting Nolan in the role of “godfather” for their next big DC Comics franchise, “Man of Steel”? Hardly!

Putting the famously meticulous Nolan in the back seat for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie not only ensured that some of the “300” director’s more egregious moviemaking habits (such as excessive use of slow-motion and unbalanced focus on action) were reined in, but it also made a whole lot of financial sense for the studio (Nolan’s name alone is sure to put fan butts in seats). Granted, we still don’t know how the film will turn out for Warner Bros. (“Man of Steel” hits theatres on June 14), but early buzz has sounded pretty promising.

With the entire future of the DC Comics movie universe basically riding on the success or failure of “Man of Steel,” bringing Nolan into the fold was probably a shrewd move by WB. But what of future superhero movies from the studio? Will Nolan be involved in those, too?

The sad answer is: Not likely.

See also: The one thing missing from 'Man of Steel'

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov categorically denied the rumours that Nolan would be taking on a similar overseer role for the studio’s long gestating “Justice League” movie – the DC Comics answer to the hugely successful Marvel superhero ensemble “The Avengers.” To the disappointment of many fans, no doubt, Robinov also denied that actor Christian Bale would be returning as Batman for the big screen team up.

Despite Nolan’s involvement, the studio seems to be looking at “Man of Steel” as a sort of clean break for DC’s stable of superheroes, one that likely won’t tie-in to Nolan’s Bat-verse.

“Where we go in the future is a whole other conversation,” Robinov told EW, adding that the upcoming Superman film will be the start of a much bigger things for the DC Comics characters.

“I think you’ll see that, going forward, anything can live in this world,” Robinov said. “[Nolan’s] Batman was deliberately and smartly positioned as a stand-alone. The world they lived in was very isolated without any knowledge of any other superheroes. What Zack and Chris have done with this film is allow you to really introduce other characters into the same world.”

See also: What if the trailer for 'The Dark Knight Rises' were more honest?

While some fans may cry foul at Warner Bros. essentially orphaning the continuity laid out by the recent Batman movies in favour of a new approach, wiping the slate clean and starting fresh with “Man of Steel” is a good idea. Nolan’s grim, gritty, and grounded-in-reality take on the DC universe may have been the most successful, but his isn’t the only vision of this universe – as other DC superhero movie directors like Richard Donner, Tim Burton, Bryan Singer, and Martin Campbell can attest to.

Nolan’s particular brand of filmmaking worked very well for Batman in the “Dark Knight” trilogy (and may well work for Superman in “Man of Steel,” too), but that’s no guarantee that his approach and methods would mesh with lighter characters like The Flash or Wonder Woman. Besides, Nolan may not be directly involved in the movies, but that doesn’t mean his imprint still won’t be felt: dark, brooding, and real is still the order of the day for any and all superhero movies getting made.

See also: Can you make a movie in Canada without government funding?

But that grim Nolan-esque tone is part of the problem here: the studio tried that approach with DC hero Green Lantern in the 2011 film of the same name, and as anyone who saw that movie can tell you, it didn't work very well. In order to make "Justice League" work -- a movie that will include Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the rest -- Warner Bros. has to establish a tone for all of their DC universe movies and stick with it. Consistency is the only thing holding Marvel's loose assembly of big superhero tales together.

Yes, Marvel's movies can be serious at times, but they can also be thrilling, fun, and funny. Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy was entertaining, but you could probably count the number of big laughs in the those three films on one hand. These are comic book characters: they're allowed to be funny from time to time. Hopefully, "Man of Steel" can find that balance between humour and seriousness, and use that film as the tonal template for future DC Comics movies going forward.