Comic Book Casting: The BATWOMAN Movie

After the ending of the Christopher Nolan Batman movie trilogy, where can you go next? Do you take the easy route and wait a couple years and start over with a new Batman franchise The Amazing Spider-Man style, or do you take the most risky (but potentially more rewarding route) of returning to Nolan’s Gotham City and expand it into a universe a la Marvel’s movies expanding out of Iron Man. Imagine if DC did that: gave the Batman character some time off and instead invested in Gotham City and the denizens within. Earlier this year I pitched a way a Gotham Central television series could play into that, and now I’d  like to put a Batwoman movie into that mix.

The Concept:

I’d argue that when DC first announced a new Batwoman was coming to the DCU, fans didn’t have high hops for it. Built around the conceit (and the media buzz) of a lesbian filling in the role of the female Batman. But years later when writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III picked up the threads of Kate Kane and developed it into a cohesive and evocative story that took inspiration from Batman without seeming like a secondary, second-tier character. Through their run, then Williams and Blackman’s later work, Kane was developed as a nuanced character in an interesting off-shoot of Gotham City that was thrilling for the story and the art. That’s the key to cracking the code on a Batwoman movie I think; not just retelling the story, but somehow getting the kind of magic Williams does and translating it and making it natural on the big screen.

For the story itself, I’d give the floor away to see Batwoman face off against the Lewis Carroll-esque Alice after the latter threatens Gotham with a toxic death cloud. Kane’s father Jake would play a big role in this, and delving into Batwoman’s past around the end of the second arc to show her ties with Alice could really turn this into a good movie to a great movie.

The Director:

To take on this challenging project, I’d tap Drive‘s director Nicolas Winding Refn. Although to many an outsider,  he’s arguably no more the outsider than Christopher Nolan was when he was tapped to do Batman Begins; but what Refn has that Nolan doesn’t is several more films under his belt, plus an admitted penchant for superheroes. The neo-noir aspects of Drive aren’t too far a cry from what J.H. Williams III, Greg Rucka, Haden Blackman and others have laid out for Batwoman in Detective Comics and Batwoman. Refn also could be one of the few directors able and willing to adapt not just the storyline of Kate Kane but also elements of Williamsart style to the film production. I’m not asking for Sin City here, but if Refn could find a happy medium that took advantage of what’s already there in the comics it could go a long way in making the movie more than a junior-league spin-off of the Batman movies but a new entry in its own right.
guy from Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn

The Cast:

Batwoman / Katherine “Kate” Kane – Emily Blunt: This Looper leading lady was offered two chances to be a in a superhero movie before (Iron Man 2, Captain America – The First Avenger), but playing Kate Kane in Batwoman seems more ideal and delightful for the actress and movie fans. She was excellent in The Young Victoria, and I’d love to see her able to bite into a role like this where the non-costumed part of the story is arguably just as thrilling as the caped outings.

Alice / Elizabeth “Beth” Kane – Katee Sackhoff: Sackhoff vied with a who’s who of Hollywood in my mind to do this, but I couldn’t resist the idea of seeing the former Starbuck take on the Alice role and play up the action and the crazy. She could really take on the role of Kate’s twin sister, and really show the other side of the coin.

Colonel Jacob “Jake” Kane – Ed Harris: When I first read the Batwoman storyline in Detective Comics, I knew Jake Kane was Ed Harris. I’ve never talked to Rucka or Williams about it, but this Comic Book Casting is the perfect place to raise this flag and stake out Harris for this role. He could handle the rough, military dad aspect to a tee without becoming a stereotype.

Gabrielle “Gabi” Kane – Amy Ryan: Edging into that second tier, this alum of The Wire could play the pivotal role of Kate and Beth’s mother, showing off that military promise and also that heart-wrenching origin.

Renee Montoya – Rosario Dawson: Don’t forget this aspect of it; although it hasn’t been played up as much as DC hyped it when Batwoman was first launched, I think the relationship between Kate and Renee could be an important facet of a Batwoman movie if played maturely and not vamped up too much. Plus, anything to get Renee Montoya onscreen is a good thing.

Comments

  1. They’d be hard pressed to get the feel of the book onto the screen. To me the artwork on Batwoman is as much a character as the actual characters.

  2. This is a great cast list – I really like Katee Sackhoff as Alice

  3. All I can see now is Katee Sackhoff as Kate Kane. 🙂

  4. Ed Harris is amazing

  5. Not sure this would “fly” as a movie, but what about a TV series? Some casting adjustments would have to be made, of course – Ed Harris wouldn’t sign on for a TV show, I’m sure. But he would be excellent as her father.

    So, alternate TV cast:

    Batwoman / Katherine “Kate” Kane – Katee Sackhoff
    Alice / Elizabeth “Beth” Kane – Hudson Leick (Callisto from Xena – great at crazy!)
    Colonel Jacob “Jake” Kane – Kurtwood Smith
    Gabrielle “Gabi” Kane – Jessica Lange
    Renee Montoya – Tania Raymonde

  6. Fantastic I love all these actors. I wish Emily Blunt would take a role in a comic book movie. She shines in everything she’s in.

  7. I can imagine a movie where everything “non-super” is shot through filters to keep it muted, and then the “super” parts used rotoscoping (like in A Scanner Darkly) with exaggerated colors to amplify it. I love watch that all day, every day.

    Casting seems fine, but I would be more a stickler for the look of it.

    • Now there’s an idea – to mimic what the comic does, shoot the different types of scenes differently. I like it. Another would be to have the scene transitions mimic the look of the comic. Sort of like “Spidey Super Stories” on the Electric Company except JHW III style.

  8. Fine selections! I will be hearing these actors voices in my head next time I read Batwoman.