Batman's Supporting Characters

[BatmAngelus]

I thought I'd start a thread for the other Batman characters we may see in the next film.  Deadline's report about the Detroit filming indicates that we'll see Gotham City.

If I had to bet on one additional Gotham character we'd see, it would be Alfred Pennyworth.

The current rumor right now is Timothy Dalton and while I'd be curious to see his take, I don't think anyone should believe the reports about him since they come from Cosmic Book News, the site that also claimed that Bryan Cranston was cast already as Lex Luthor and that Tyler Hoechlin was a major frontrunner for Batman.

What characters from Batman's world do you think we'll see in the MoS sequel?

[johnnygobbs]

I thought I'd start a thread for the other Batman characters we may see in the next film.  Deadline's report about the Detroit filming indicates that we'll see Gotham City.

If I had to bet on one additional Gotham character we'd see, it would be Alfred Pennyworth.

The current rumor right now is Timothy Dalton and while I'd be curious to see his take, I don't think anyone should believe the reports about him since they come from Cosmic Book News, the site that also claimed that Bryan Cranston was cast already as Lex Luthor and that Tyler Hoechlin was a major frontrunner for Batman.

What characters from Batman's world do you think we'll see in the MoS sequel?

I'm much more excited about the prospect of Timothy Dalton, a deeply underrated and under-used actor IMHO, featuring as Alfred than I am of Cranston as Luthor.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm a huge Cranston fan but I would just prefer to see him as an ally to Batman or Superman, preferably Commissioner Gordon, as opposed to a villain.  But if there's any grain of truth to the rumour Dalton is an unexpected but inspired pick for Alfred.

Having said all that I'm not sure whether it is a mite too early for a full-scale Batman movie.  I was anticipating a genuine sequel to 'MOS', in other words a 'Superman' film featuring Batman rather than the opposite.  I hope Snyder and co aren't already bored with Superman and I do hope we get to see more of the Clark and Lois working relationship hinted at the end of 'MOS' as well as some more of Perry White and Steve Lombard.

[The Laughing Fish]

Rumours suggest that Batman will have a love interest for Man of Steel 2. And off-topic, Hans Zimmer may be creating a new Batman theme for the film.

Source: http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/09/04/will-batman-have-a-girlfriend-in-man-of-steel-2

[johnnygobbs]

Rumours suggest that Batman will have a love interest for Man of Steel 2. And off-topic, Hans Zimmer may be creating a new Batman theme for the film.

Source: http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/09/04/will-batman-have-a-girlfriend-in-man-of-steel-2

Anyone have any thoughts on who the love interest should be?

Apparently all we know at the moment is that the filmmakers are looking for actresses who are tall, can display a degree of physicality and are in their late 20s.  The 'physicality' part would imply a tough woman and someone along the lines of Catwoman or Talia Al Ghul (but surely we're not going to see them again so quickly) rather than a girly-girl socialite type like Julie Madison or Silver St Cloud.  Who else could it be?

[Gotham Knight]

Timothy Dalton...........Yes.

[Silver Nemesis]

"Let me just say, 'No comment.'"

Timothy Dalton offers that response, pleasantly, when asked by Zap2it about rumors he's being sought to play loyal manservant Alfred to Ben Affleck's Batman/Bruce Wayne in director Zack Snyder's "Batman vs. Superman," which will unite the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel (again played by Henry Cavill) on the big screen for the first time in 2015.

"Make of that what you will," Dalton muses about his non-confirmation. "Put that out among the rumor-mongers. Let's get a bit of a buzz going. Let's light a fire!"

If that fire were to catch, Dalton says he'd be happy to work with the latest performer cast as Batman: "I think Ben Affleck's a terrific actor, and I think it'll be a terrific film if they've got a good script and the rest of it. They know how to make these, and it'll be fabulous, I'm sure."

Adding that he saw Snyder's "Man of Steel" and "liked it," Dalton says with a laugh that his playing Alfred "might be brilliant casting, mightn't it? Who knows? Otherwise, no comment!"

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2013/09/timothy-dalton-alfred-ben-affleck-batman-vs-superman.html

[johnnygobbs]

What do you make of this Silver Nemesis?  I'd say that seems quite promising.  Certainly the will is there from Dalton and he's not outright denying the rumours.

I think it would be inspired casting and I suspect that Dalton would be great at conveying both an old-style British gentleman and a man with a action-packed past, much like the more recent comic-book incarnations of Alfred with his SAS background (I suppose if they go down that route it would also be a nod to the 'James Bond' franchise which I'd be more than okay with, Dalton being one of my favourite Bonds, and certainly the most underrated).

[Edd Grayson]

I like Timothy Dalton, I'd love to see him as Alfred Pennyworth.

[Silver Nemesis]

Offhand, I can't think of a better actor for the part than Dalton. He's a fair bit taller than the Alfred in the comics, but then so were Alan Napier and Michael Caine. He's the right age and he's got the distinguished presence and well-spoken manner to pull it off.

The Dalton era of the Bond films has always been underrated. I remember reading an old review once that criticised Dalton for his "misguided" attempt to make Bond grittier and more serious. And yet nowadays critics are praising Daniel Craig – who is a lot less suave than Dalton IMO – for doing the exact same thing. Connery is still my favourite Bond, but License to Kill (1989) is probably my favourite Bond film. And 'Living Daylights' is the best Bond theme ever.

Career wise, Dalton is well positioned to take on the Alfred role. He's got cult appeal thanks to Flash Gordon (1980), The Rocketeer (1991) and the James Bond films. But he's also proven himself to be a capable 'serious' actor through a lot of his stage and TV work. And in recent years he's stepped back into the limelight playing supporting roles in successful films like Hot Fuzz (2007) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Plus there's just something inherently cool about the idea of Batman being raised by 007. Especially a Bond as gritty as Dalton's. And if Dalton's Alfred makes a throwaway remark about having been in the army or the Secret Service, the audience will believe him.

He also sounds enthusiastic about the part. So I say give him a shot.

[BatmAngelus]

Right on.  When it comes to Bond, I agree that Dalton's era was underrated and ahead of its time.  Licence to Kill is one of my favorites, too (and I greatly prefer it over the Craig era's version of "Bond goes rogue for a personal vendetta" in Quantum of Solace).

I was about to post that casting Dalton would mean a younger Alfred, too, but I looked up his age and discovered he's currently 69.  By the time he'd play the role (if Alfred is indeed in this film), he'd be only a year or two younger than Gough and Caine when they first played their roles (Gough was 72 in when filming B89 in 1988, Caine was 71 when filming BB in 2004) and he's already a year older than Ian Abercrombie was (68) when he played Alfred in Birds of Prey in 2002.  Not that this is a bad thing, of course.  It just means that he's right in the appropriate age range.

Still, I had to look up his birthday to discover that.  Dalton currently looks younger than the previous Alfreds, even in the pics I've seen of him with gray hair.

Regardless who gets cast, I think the next Alfred and Gordon have big shoes to fill after Michael Caine and Gary Oldman.  But I think Timothy Dalton and Bryan Cranston would be great successors, respectively. 

Dalton can easily portray the sardonic humor mixed with the warm father figure elements.  The ex-MI6 background would be too good of a connection to pass up (and a far better post-Bond role than Connery had in LXG).  I could easily see Dalton's Alfred guarding the Batcave with a shotgun. 

Plus, we know that he's no stranger to a tux.    If Dalton replicates his Simon Skinner look from Hot Fuzz (in the picture Silver Nemesis posted) while wearing a tuxedo, he'd be the most Alfred-looking Alfred since Alan Napier. 

We'd also no longer have a cockney Alfred (sorry, Mr. Caine).  Just imagine Dalton's voice saying "Master Bruce."

As for Cranston, he can easily play the family man elements while being a tough cop.  Hell, he already played the role in Year One.  Not to mention he's worked with Ben Affleck before in Argo. 

Voice-wise, Cranston doesn't have to worry about faking an American accent like Oldman did.  And I'm with johnnygobs in that I'd rather hear him use the "Heisenberg growl" (Breaking Bad fans know what I'm talking about) in interrogating a street thug than using it as Lex in confronting Superman.

Finally, when it comes to looks, no contest.  Season 1 Walter White in Breaking Bad is the spitting image of David Mazzuchelli's Gordon in Batman: Year One (even moreso than Oldman was, in my opinion).