How to follow 'Dark Knight'? Angelina Jolie as the purrfect Catwoman

An open letter to Christopher Nolan:

Dear Chris,

Congratulations on the avalanche of rave reviews for "The Dark Knight" as well as this staggering box-office success that's unfolding right now. It is, in my opinion, the best comic-book movie ever, and I'm genuinely happy for you and your team. Now, though, you have a big problem: What can you possibly do for an encore?

Warner Bros wants to keep this gravy train running, especially since the "Harry Potter" is moving toward a franchise expiration date and the fact that Bryan Singer's Superman reboot fizzled. But where should you start? That's easy: Call your best wardrobe designers and have them start envisioning Angelina Jolie in Catwoman's black-leather body suit. (What about the recent birth of her twins, you say? No problem. I'm guessing that new-mom Jolie will be back in lean, cat-suit shape by, oh, next week or so.)

I'm not sure anyone can actually top Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker (and you don't dare bring any other actor in portray the Joker) but it would be catnip to fanboys everywhere if Jolie was lured to your Gotham to be Catwoman opposite Christian Bale's Batman. And frankly, you have some serious limitations on where you else to turn for your next Bat-baddie.

When I visited with you a few weeks ago at the Warner lot in Burbank you told me that the franchise was best served by villians without supernatural or wild science-fiction origins. That eliminates Man-Bat, Mr. Freeze, Bane,Killer Croc and Clayface, as well as Poison Ivy's large-scale, killer-shrub tricks. Maybe you could turn to Hugo Strange and his monster men; they have some science-fiction elements, certainly, but the lurching, feral monster men wouldn't require the big CGI scenes that you're trying to avoid in your taut crime films. And, as one of the very first Batman villains (Detective Comics No. 36, way back in 1940, pre-dating the Joker), Strange would dovetail nicely with your push to take the hero back to the unsettling spook-show qualities of his earliest incarnations. If you do go Strange, how about handing the lab coat and spectacles to Ben Kingsley, who showed in "Sexy Beast" that he can match anyone's glower?

What other villains? I know we won't be seeing an flame-throwing umbrella: You mentioned when I saw you that the Penguin is "not very interesting" to you and the sour look on your face summed up your disdain for the waddling Oswald Cobblepot. I guess you could go with the Riddler (maybe Eddie Izzard, who has untapped menace beneath his eye-liner?) if you jettisoned the lime question-mark suit.

The best option seems to be Catwoman and the best Catwoman seems to be Jolie. I'm guessing we won't be seeing the Rachel Dawes character in the next film (ahem) so it's time to get Bruce Wayne a new most "Wanted" woman. Hey, maybe you've already got the litterbox ready: I caught that quick line in "Dark Knight" about the danger that cat-claws pose to the crevices in Batman's body armor. Nice. Here's hoping she and her lover-foe Batman end up fighting their way out of Arkham Asylum together or some such fight-and-flirt scenario.

Thanks for listening and, again, congrats on "The Dark Knight." One last thing: If for some reason Halle Berry's agent starts clogging up your voicemail with messages, don't bother returning the calls. Just trust me on that one.

Sincerely,

-- Geoff Boucher

Photo by Martin Schoeller, from Los Angeles Times archives

Comments

[Michele]

Angelina's has other things to do. I do agree she would be an great catwoman. Anything to erase the stench of Halle Berry in that role.

[frank1569]

Here's a different theory:

When Fox and Bruce are discussing the new Batsuit modifications, Bruce asks if it will resist dogs. For no apparent reason, Fox replies that it will resist cats.

Why would he say that? Because it's a set up...?

Later, Rachel Dawes(who never appeared in any Batman comics and is a Nolan creation,) is supposedly killed, but we never see the body, or hear about body parts (or anything else) being retrieved, or see a funeral. Why not? Because she's not dead...?

And Wikipedia points out: "There have been many versions of Catwoman's origins and backstory seen in the comic books over the decades." Which means it's open territory. Wiki also mentions this: "The character has been one of Batman's most enduring love interests, and has occasionally been depicted as his one true love." Which is exactly how Rachel Dawes has been portrayed.

Hence: Maggie Gyllenhaal will return as Catwoman.

[Nomad]

Rather than Catwoman .. develop the "Breaking of the Bat" Story Arc .. where Bane cripples Bruce Wayne and he has to re-train himself to overcome the very person he handpicks to replace him as the Batman ('Azazel the Assasin") - much better fit with the dark mood of Begins / Dark Knight

More on story: http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Knightfall-Part-One-Broken/dp/1563891425

[ConanLibrarian]

Jessica Biel

[Todd Martens]

Hey Geoff,

Enjoyed the piece, and as fond as I am of the Catwoman character, I'm rooting for Harley Quinn if there's another Nolan Bat-movie. We haven't seen her before in a movie, she's had a nice comic life since debuting in the animated series, and there's some continuity with her Joker-influenced stylings.

Upstairs,

[Steve]

No Catwoman
The next villain will be the Riddler
there are so many things that can be done with the riddler.
Chris Nolan take the Riddler and make an amazingly complex story.
No question
Thats where its going

[Movie Patron]

Dumb idea!
Ranks right up there with Superman being a deadbeat dad and Lois Lane being a knocked-up, unwed mother from the last Superman movie.

Just say "NOOOOOOO!"

[Nomad]

How about Breaking of the Bat - Bane cripples Bruce Wayne who must then retrain to overcome the person he picks to replace himself as the Batman (Azazel) ...

More on the story arc: http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Knightfall-Part-One-Broken/dp/1563891425

[Biff Savage]

This is a horrible idea. Like Robin, Catwoman should never again be linked to Batman.

There are dozens of better villains to use. Kingsley as Strange would be grand. As would the Riddler, however i think someone more unassumingly insane, work better than Eddie Izzard someone random like Jason Schwartzman or Jude Law for Riddler is my vote.

[Frosty]

I concur, Keep Jolie away from Batman, Please!

For that matter, keep CatWoman away. How about start a budding relationship with Robin?

Think of how they modified Sandman to make him scary and a real person. Isn't there any villians that you can do the same thing to?

I'm not much of a fanboy, but I would hate to see Jolie in Batman. I was happy to get rid of Holmes with "The Dark Knight." We don't need any "large" actors. I know that point is disputable, but I think Nolan has a good thing going right now.

[Caitlin]

No way! What about Talia? One of Batman's most interesting and passionate love interests, it could bring back the Ras Alghul element. Or, even better, what about Sasha and the Checkmate entity? Both of those could be viable stories without being overly supernatural. Catwoman must be a last resort! Catwoman, perhaps coupled in a small role, with one of these women could make an interesting story, but she should just pop in and out, if at all, like she does in the comics.

[Walt]

I must veto the catwoman idea for some of the reasons listed prior to my post. For the next film, get someone to play the Riddler in a diabolical way (more like joker, less like jim carrey (who was great for that prior film, but these are much darker). Get someone who looks similar to Ledger to play Joker briefly (Mark Wahlburg would work, but would need help getting the character down). Joker's only scenes would be when batman sneaks into arkham to consult with him (like in silence of the lambs) in order to catch the Riddler. Make the entire movie one giant mind trip. This is the only way I can see the next film living up to the current one.

[Eric]

Yes Jolie as catwoman is horrible. She is just a pretty face. Terrible actress. Nolan needs to do something new, never done before, so it is harder to compare it to previous batmans and thus destroy the series if its not perfect. Not every actor is capable of redefining a character like Ledger. Which means we need new villians. There is at least a hundred different villians from the comic books. All of them are less interesting than the joker, so it really is impossible for the next sequel to measure up to TDK. The difficult part is intertwining the villians and the heros in a compelling drama story interspersed with action and explosions.

[Dick Grayson]

You are joking, right? I may have considered Jolie when she was decent ("Gia", "Girl Interrupted"), but with the rash of bad acting and false bravado we've seen of her, she will destroy any credibility in the Nolan Batman series. I think everyone is missing the big picture. All the "villains" in this series have some semblence of humanness and reality missing from the first 4 films. If you are going to consider Catwoman for the next series, then get someone who can at least act. Charlize Theron and maybe Carrie-Ann Moss would be my only two candidate to fit the part.

[Murphy Brown]

No. I don't think Angelina Jolie would make a good Catwoman.

I'd like to see either a Mr. Freeze or a Riddler in the third one. Mr. Freeze would be great because of his background story, plus he has his awesome trademark freeze gun. Yes, he is a little bit too sci-fi, but I bet Nolan could make him work. The Riddler would be cool because Nolan could make him into a mobster kind of guy, and have him wear a green fedora with the green jacket (with a faint ? on his tie).

[Erik]

Thank God Christopher Nolan doesn't listen to nonsense like this. Jolie as Catwoman is pretty much the worst idea ever, considering the fact that Jolie couldn't act her way out of a paperbag. She would have fit nicely in the Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher "visons" (I use that term loosely) that trumpeted style over substance, but she would stick out like a garishly hideous thumb in
Nolan's realistic universe. This is an idea I would expect from a dimwitted Hollywood exec.

[Bosque]

The breaking of the bat storyline really wont work I think. This film is going to need to include a focus of Batman's relationship with the cops, and I really don't think that can mesh very well with that particular arch. Also, as much as I love Harley, I don't see the Nolan brothers using her. Any storyline with her absolutely needs the Joker, and I have a feeling they are not going to recast him for the next movie. If the DID use the Joker again... I am still not sure they would use Harley. She seems a little too comedic and light hearted for the series. If anyone could make it work though, the Nolans could.

Honestly, I really think the Ventriloquist or Riddler are going to be the best fit here, providing that *SPOILER ALERT* Harvey is really dead. I really think a well done Riddler combined with the Batman v. the Police dynamic could surpass even the high standard this movie has left for it. I could maybe see Catwoman as a side villain, but not as the god awful (but very hot) Jessica Alba, nor as Jolie or Barry. I could maybe see giving Maggie the role, but it would be a stretch I don't think the brothers are willing to make, no mater how good she is.

Oh, and correction for one of my associates above: Kung Fu Panda was Dreamworks, not Pixar. Pixar did Wall-E.

[Joker]

And I thought my jokes were bad, dude you need a different profession

[Scott]

Jolie - Horrible Choice... and she's much too political for this series. Two words for you: Keira Knightley.

[Junior]

You have bad ideas. Next time keep them to yourself.

[Nate Crawford]

Wow. You and Joel Schumacher should get together an host seminars on How To Ruin a Film Franchise.
I can't believe you even SAW The Dark Knight if you're making comments such as these.

[Matches Malone]

Terrible idea. Jolie is not the answer to everything. And mind telling me how Bane is supernatural or Sci-Fi? And why cant someone else play The Joker? If you wanna be a casting director, be one. Dont try to do it through your poorly written articles.

[Simon]

What a disgusting idea, I hope you were kidding.

[Izzy]

Jolie is a brilliant idea! I LOVE her commanding strength -- she'd be a great panther instead of some made up kitten! -- Nobody touches her on-screen charisma -- otherwise I'd cast Michelle Forbes or Carrie-Anne Moss -- no freaking ingenues please!!!

[Mazzy]

What about Batman meets that Yuppie Psycho Murderer Patrick Bateman from American Psycho?