Today's edition of Variety reports that Warner Bros. has chosen Christopher Nolan, director of Memento and Insomnia, to revive the Batman movie franchise.  Details about the writing and timing of Nolan's Batman film remain unclear, but it appears that Warners has made an excellent choice to bring some credibility back to the cinematic adventures of the Caped Crusader. 

Nolan's Memento, which is filled with stylistic and narrative inventiveness, is one of the very best of the modern noir films -- and noir, not camp is definitely the style that suits Batman best.  Tim Burton used the rain-slicked streets and dramatic lighting of film noir in his seminal 1989 Batman film, but subsequent Batfilms foundered in a sea of bloated star turns, turgid screenplays and flaccid directing.  In order to restore the franchise it will be necessary to create a dark and edgy environment, where everything and everyone including the Caped Crusader is in real jeopardy.  Nolan, quoted in Variety, has all the right ideas about the Dark Knight: 'All I can say is that I grew up with Batman, I've been fascinated by him and I'm excited to contribute to the lore surrounding the character.  He's the most credible and realistic of the superheroes, and has the most complex human psychology.  His superhero qualities come from within.  He's not a magical character.'

Although it appears that Warner Bros.' Batman vs. Superman project has been shelved, two other Batman-related films remain in development.  Darren Aronofsky, another extremely inventive director who like Christopher Nolan comes from the world of independent films, is still developing Batman: Year One, but Aronofsky's name keeps coming up in regards to other projects, so there is no telling when or even if he will get to make his Batman film.  Much closer to actual production is a Catwoman film featuring Ashley Judd, which has both a writer (John Rogers) and a director (Pitof -- see 'Catwoman Gets a Director'), but still no starting date.  At this point it appears that the J.J. Abrams-written Superman film will be the first major DC-based superhero film of the new millennium.

Variety suggests (quite rightly) that Guy Pearce, who starred in Memento, might make an excellent Batman, but Warner Bros. has released no details about the scripting or casting of Nolan's Batfilm.  Meanwhile Nolan is involved in the production of a biographical film about the legendary Howard Hughes starring Jim Carrey, but Nolan's project maybe short lived if the Martin Scorsese Hughes film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio gets underway first.  Stay tuned for more details.