Now that we’ve heard Matt Reeves is likely looking to Frank Miller’s Year One graphic novel for influence, our next topic for discussion pertaining to The Batman actually ties in with that. Keep in mind that if indeed this all pans out, a strict adaptation is not to be expected. Still, those of you familiar with the book will recognize some similarities.
Chief among those will be a certain supporting character: Harvey Dent. Though moviegoers are already well acquainted with this guy, it’s somewhat vital to include him if the Caped Crusader’s earlier days are to be explored. Granted, his role in Year One itself was very minor, but it could be expanded in Reeves’ film.
According to Revenge of the Fans, Gotham City’s District Attorney is only mentioned as being such, with no confirmation of his transition to becoming Two-Face included in the report. Still, this is something that could be revisited in potential sequels, though I’d rather see some villains who’ve yet to appear on the silver screen.
Previously, Harvey had been portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Tim Burton’s Batman, who’d taken the gig under the assumption he’d one day play Two-Face. As fate would have it, the torch was passed to Tommy Lee Jones a few years later in Batman Forever, which, in a way, was a soft reboot of the franchise.
Then, further down the road, Aaron Eckhart actually got to play both sides of the coin (pun intended) in The Dark Knight. Having done a fine job of pulling that off, I feel it’d be best to save the Two-Face stuff for another movie so that The Batman doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of what Christopher Nolan did in 2008. All we can do for now though is sit back and wait to see how this situation plays out.
