A Third Batman Film has Been Officially Announced.

[herodad1]

ahh, throw Bane in and have the story line be about illegal performance enhancers. i'd be mister all-natural versus mister all-chemical. Bane wouldnt be the huge dummy he was in the other movie.even drop blockbuster in too. the problem with bats and his enemies are no one other than comic fans knows anything about his foes except joker,penguin,catwoman, and joker. ive never been that crazy about them anyway.i'm more partial to guys like killer croc,mr.freeze, and clay-face.

[BlueBard]

ahh, throw Bane in and have the story line be about illegal performance enhancers. i'd be mister all-natural versus mister all-chemical. Bane wouldnt be the huge dummy he was in the other movie.even drop blockbuster in too. the problem with bats and his enemies are no one other than comic fans knows anything about his foes except joker,penguin,catwoman, and joker. ive never been that crazy about them anyway.i'm more partial to guys like killer croc,mr.freeze, and clay-face.

Bane wouldn't be a bad way to go.  You could even tie it in to Scarecrow's experimentation.  I would think that would be within the realm of 'barely-realism'.

[Mr. Hamrick]

My bigger issue is this notion that somehow because Bruce Timm's name is on it that Batman: TAS is somehow superior to the original work of Bob Kane when Bob Kane is THE CREATOR OF THE CHARACTER.

I am a big fan of the early Batman stories, but I don't see anything wrong with someone thinking other versions are better. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is better than Len Wein's. Denny O'Neil's Green Arrow is better than Mort Weisinger's. And of course, the TAS people had the advantage of being able to draw on all the previous versions of Batman, picking and choosing the best bits to incorporate into the show.

Also keep in mind that the stories signed by Bob Kane were mostly done by other people anyway. For instance, he had zilch to do with Mr. Freeze, who was created by Dave Wood and Sheldon Moldoff.

Bruce Timm was primarily the ARTIST not THE WRITER on the series.  While he did come up with stories to be written, that is different than writing the individual script.  He only wrote a handful of episodes (3 of the original run and 2 of the new Batman adventures) and the episode establishing Mr. Freeze's origin ("Heart of Ice") was written by Paul Dini.   I sort of understand all the love for Bruce Timm as an ARTIST.  I am not arguing that Batman: TAS was the best looking of any Batman series. However, I refuse to Timm credit as the writer of episodes that he didn't write.  (Timm didn't write "Batman: Subzero" either)

Timm's story credit for the episode just means that he came up with the idea for the script then had someone else write it.  It's like if I hired one of you to write a script based on an idea that I had.  Essentially, I would get the principal credit for the story but you'd get the credit for the screenplay.  

Same thing with Nolan's film, he gets the story credit but his brother Jonathan is the primary screenwriter.  If you turn in a script and I do rewrites on it then I would get a secondary screenwriter credit.  Hence why Christopher gets the secondary writing credit on The Dark Knight and Jonathan gets the primary.

However, what irks me most is this notion that Bruce Timm is the end all be all to any sort of presentation of DC work.  He is great as far as the animation stuff, I'll concede that.  But I will say this again, directing an animated feature is different than directing a live action.  Furthermore, doing either one of those is different than laying out a comic book and writing and drawing it.  And Timm is unproven as a live action film director.  

As for Mr. Freeze, Nolan has said that he is not interested in using the character.  The same goes for The Penguin.  I completely understand why even above and beyond the initial reasoning behind it.  

The problem with Mr. Freeze is that he is almost too sympathetic of a villain.  Having him as the villain would risk making the film more about him than about Batman (something that been a trademark of Nolan's storytelling with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight).  They skirted the matter with Harvey Dent/Two Face but it'd be a lot harder to justify with Mr. Freeze.  Especially given what has been laid out in the movies' storyline thus far.  

As for Penguin, he is not that serious of a Batman villain anymore.  He's barely anything more than a trafficker these days of weapons and whatever else.  At best, he would be a minor villain.

Having said that, the two villains that are probably going to be Riddler and Catwoman.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a cameo by The Scarecrow (as Cilian Murphy said he'd be on board if Nolan wanted him) and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like The Black Mask or other type of "mobster" figure to be the figure head for "Gotham's Underworld" ala Falcone and Marconi.  I'm not saying that Riddler and Catwoman would be my picks but I am saying that that's who it looks like it's going to be.  If they aren't then there is a lot of false buzz going around that's led some major name actors to seek non-existent roles.  (Which would be kinda funny.)

[steamteck]

Mr. Hamrick, We're completely talking past each other . All I meant was I don't see why this concept of Mr. freeze would work any more poorly on the live action screen than lots of others fantastic products that have worked quite well.
Actually though its not a stretch to me someone else could come up with a better interpretation of the character than the original creator. happened lots of times I can think of.

[Talavar]

Bruce Timm was primarily the ARTIST not THE WRITER on the series.  While he did come up with stories to be written, that is different than writing the individual script.  He only wrote a handful of episodes (3 of the original run and 2 of the new Batman adventures) and the episode establishing Mr. Freeze's origin ("Heart of Ice") was written by Paul Dini.   I sort of understand all the love for Bruce Timm as an ARTIST.  I am not arguing that Batman: TAS was the best looking of any Batman series. However, I refuse to Timm credit as the writer of episodes that he didn't write.  (Timm didn't write "Batman: Subzero" either)

Timm's story credit for the episode just means that he came up with the idea for the script then had someone else write it.  It's like if I hired one of you to write a script based on an idea that I had.  Essentially, I would get the principal credit for the story but you'd get the credit for the screenplay.  

Same thing with Nolan's film, he gets the story credit but his brother Jonathan is the primary screenwriter.  If you turn in a script and I do rewrites on it then I would get a secondary screenwriter credit.  Hence why Christopher gets the secondary writing credit on The Dark Knight and Jonathan gets the primary.

However, what irks me most is this notion that Bruce Timm is the end all be all to any sort of presentation of DC work.  He is great as far as the animation stuff, I'll concede that.  But I will say this again, directing an animated feature is different than directing a live action.  Furthermore, doing either one of those is different than laying out a comic book and writing and drawing it.  And Timm is unproven as a live action film director.  

I don't think Timm is the be-all/end-all of Batman, but more than primarily being the artist behind Batman TAS, he was the show runner.  It's not a post you see listed in episode credits, even though most shows have them.  Which scripts got chosen, what story ideas got handed out to more talented writers, voice acting, animation, character design - he had his hand in all of it.  He didn't write many (if any) episodes - though he did direct a number, but the tone, feel, appearance and direction of the show should largely be credited to him.

[BentonGrey]

What follows is an involved response to Mr. Hammick's latest posts, and it does not deal directly with the matter of the new Batman movie, so I am putting it in spoilers for those of you who don't want to bother with my lengthy thoughts:

Spoiler

Not being narrow minded at all.  I am merely looking at Timm's credits and what he actually received credits for with Batman: TAS and most of that were as producer and as artist.  His writing credits were for overall story and not for the script.  Coming up with a story is much different than the script that successfully tells that story.  I know this from firsthand experience.

My bigger issue is this notion that somehow because Bruce Timm's name is on it that Batman: TAS is somehow superior to the original work of Bob Kane when Bob Kane is THE CREATOR OF THE CHARACTER.  I don't have an issue with Timm's artwork nor do I have a major issue with him as a storyteller.  However, the script that created the Post-Crisis origin of Mr. Freeze was created by Paul Dini not by Bruce Timm.  Bruce Timm directed the episode but did not write it.  I am taking issue with Benton giving Timm credit for Dini's writing perhaps moreso than even the idea that Timm did the character than the guy who created the character..  

However, Timm has never directed live action material so I reserve to right to say that he is not proven as a live action director.  It's no different than saying that I would not be someone to ask to direct a big budget animation project.  (IE: You would not want me directing Toy Story 4 or The Incredibles 2 or anything like that.)   I will remain skeptical of his ability with live action work until proven otherwise.  It's the same deal with Frank Miller trying to direct something.  The Spirit is one of the WORST comic book movies I have seen and is proof that even as a competent artist and writer that he shouldn't be allowed near a live action film.  And I don't have a huge issue with Frank Miller's work on comic books.

Hmm....well, I've put off responding to your post here for a few days, mostly because I was busy, but also because I was trying to formulate a response that would make sense in light of my confusion about the straw man that you're talking about here, Hammick.  Now, according to my reading of your post here, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you're implying that: A) I am suggesting that Batman: TAS is qualitatively superior to the original Batman stories as penned by Bob Kane, B) that I am Ignorant of Bruce Timm's role in the creation of the various DCAU properties he was involved with, C) that I am giving Bruce Timm credit for what writers like Paul Dini and Dwayne McDuffie have done, and D) am further suggesting that Bruce Timm should be directing the Batman live action films.  Would that be a fair appraisal of my views as construed through your post?

As for "A," well, let's come back to "A," shall we?  I've mentioned Batman: TAS precisely once in this thread, and in so doing, I referred to it as "TAS," making no mention of Bruce Timm whatsoever.  I did mention the fact that the TAS team had rescued Mr. Freeze from obscurity, which is a factual statement.  I've quoted the relevant portion of that post below:

TAS is the best of all possible Batmen, but that doesn't mean that live-action can't ALSO be awesome.  Batman Begins did this admirably.  However, Mr. Freeze is my favorite villain from the series (after all, it was pretty much their handling that rescued him from obscurity).

I have been known to praise the "Timmverse," though, I suppose.  That is not my term, though, and it refers to the settings that came into being while Bruce Timm was at the helm of the DCAU in his role as producer.  I'm well aware of the role that Paul Dini has played, and I am eternally grateful to him for penning what I consider some of the greatest Batman stories of all time.  No, Hammick, when I refer to the TAS, I am very much referring to the entirety of body of work and all the incredibly talented people who created it.  I do have a special respect for Bruce Timm, though, as he was the man with the "vision" who pulled it all together.  However, if I had my druthers, I'd put those three, Timm, Dini, and McDuffie, in charge of bringing all DC properties to the screen.  That covered "B" and "C," and this brings us to "D."  

I am certainly not suggesting that Bruce Timm should suddenly be made the director of the Batman franchise, nor have I ever, with any level of seriousness, made such a suggestion.  Instead, I do believe that the team that made JLU would be infinitely suited to the job of overseeing the shape DC properties have in going to the big screen.  What I mean by this is that these fellows, especially Timm, have a facility for taking established characters and bringing out the very best of them.  It has nothing to do with film-making, and everything to do with ideas.  Does Timm have the experience to direct a live action movie like Batman?  Almost certainly not, but I never said he did.

Now we come back to "A," and it is here that you are actually right on target.  Yes, I do indeed believe that the Timmverse version of Batman is superior to the original Golden Age stories ostensibly penned by Bob Kane.  First, let's begin there.  Kane was, from all reports, inclined to take credit for the work of others, specifically for the artists he worked with and the myriad ghostwriters who wrote many of the stories he signed his name to.  That bit of trivia aside, as it doesn't really have much bearing on the matter of story quality, I'd still argue that TAS is a superior character and setting.

I love the original Golden Age stories, but they are fairly flat in characterization.  Batman does what he does to avenge his parents, but Batman and Bruce Wayne never really get all that much definition.  Their villains, generally even less, though I'll grant you that the Joker's early appearances are really quite chilling in their way.  These stories are a lot of fun, but they simply don't match the complexity, depth, and maturity (in the true sense) of the TAS version of Batman.  I remember watching "Mask of the Phantasm" with my wife, and thinking how moving the scene with Bruce Wayne begging his parent's grave for permission to be happy was, then being utterly surprised when I turned to find my wife quietly weeping.  That is the power of TAS, a power that the adventure stories of Bob Kane's Batman, however engaging, however archetypal, simply don't match.

Now, generally I'm a huge defender of the "original" version of a character, but that is precisely why I love the TAS Batman so much.  It takes, as others have said, that original concept, and deepens and expands it, while still staying true to it.  This is still Bob Kane's character, but it has been magnified and polished until it is something grander than it was.

[JeyNyce]

http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/07/20/excl-studio-casting-names-the-riddler-as-batman-3-villain/

Updated news

[Tomato]

I'm of two minds on this... on the one hand, Riddler is one of my favorite villains and I'm glad to see that he'll get a proper treatment (unlike forever) but at the same time... One of the things Nolan has said before was that he wanted to use characters that hadn't been used as often, and Riddler clearly doesn't fall under that category. A part of me would have liked to see someone like Black Mask or Hush who aren't well known outside of the comics.

[Podmark]

A part of me would have liked to see someone like Black Mask or Hush who aren't well known outside of the comics.

Well each of Nolan Batman films have had more than one villain so there's still room for someone else. I'd like to see either of those two as well. Black Mask could easily fit into a movie as a supporting villain like Scarecrow.

Riddler should make for a good villain.

[Shogunn2517]

First of all, I am suspect of James Gordan-Levitt for his involvement in that debacle of a movie last August.  Beyond that, I trust the producer fully.  However, I don't see him using relatively newer villains like Black Mask and particularly Hush.  Nolan saying he wanting to use characters that hadn't been used as often is one thing, but Ras Al Gul, Scarcrow, Joker and Two-Face?  Those are some of Batman's more notable villains.  I honestly fully expect the villain to be Riddler.  I'm not even convinced they're NOT using Two-Face and that storyline again.  Other than that, I also wouldn't be surprised if he used Catwoman either.

[BWPS]

Okay! So is Julia Stiles going to be Catwoman?

As much as I hate it at first, I'm sure he's going to be completely redone. I mean after all he is being played by a 16 year old. They're good at making Batman movies, they can make The Riddler an interesting villain.

[JeyNyce]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 29 and he's not a bad actor, just don't ask him to play Cobra Commander again.  I think he can play the Riddler.   

[Mr. Hamrick]

The problem with Joe playing Cobra Commander (assuming that is the debacle last August in question) is that he played the role that he was given in the script.  His reasons for taking that role was more for fun and because he got to wear the costume and the make-up.  (Paraphrased from his own words.)

Having said that.  I have known about The Riddler for several weeks now.  It was alluded to by Joe in a video blog which seems to have been since removed (or I just can't find it again, one).  Apparently, something got said to him about it while working on Inception with Nolan.  He referred to it as an interesting conversation that he wished he could discuss the contents of.

However, don't get your hopes up for Joseph getting the part.  The current cast breakdown says (and this is mentioned in the article) that The Riddler is between 35-45 years old.   I am actually looking at another Inception cast member has being much more likely to get cast than Joe and that would be Tom Hardy (who plays Eames) though he only a couple of years older than Joe.  (He is 32 about to be 33 to Joe's 29.)   Heck, given the 35-45 breakdown... Leo is dead in that range as he is 36.  

What Joe seems to have going in his favor is that he appears to be a Batman fan and he is definitely a fan of Nolan's work on the franchise.

[EDIT] Having said that.... if Joe DOES get the part of The Riddler...  I know WB can save a little on Viral Marketing and probably well.  Joe runs this website called www.hitrecord.org and I am sure some of the people there (myself included) would love to be involved in some Batman viral marketing.   And that is an idea that I am totally down with.

[bredon7777]

My first reaction to the idea of JGL as the Riddler is "Not just NO, HELL NO!" ( I have a VERY hard time seeing him as anything other than the goofy '3rd rock from the sun' alien).

But, to be fair, that was pretty much my first reaction to casting Heath Ledger as the Joker (and for that matter the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach) and those performances wound up blowing me away, so I guess we'll wait and see.

[Mr. Hamrick]

My first reaction to the idea of JGL as the Riddler is "Not just NO, HELL NO!" ( I have a VERY hard time seeing him as anything other than the goofy '3rd rock from the sun' alien).

But, to be fair, that was pretty much my first reaction to casting Heath Ledger as the Joker (and for that matter the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach) and those performances wound up blowing me away, so I guess we'll wait and see.

Well, the formal announcement has not been made.  I look at it at this point like the rumor that Paul Bettany was shortlisted to play The Joker before Heath Ledger was cast.  However, I think it'd be an interesting choice personally.

[Mr. Hamrick]

Hate to double post but no one else has picked up on it yet.

JGL may be out of the mix.

Tom Hardy is in.  Well, according to these two sites.

http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/tom-hardy-reunited-with-inception-helmer-chris-nolan-on-batman

http://thefilmstage.com/2010/10/13/christopher-nolan-casts-tom-hardy-in-lead-batman-3-role/

I mentioned earlier in the thread that I wouldn't be surprised if Nolan went with Hardy for something in the movie.

The question is WHO WILL HE BE PLAYING?  One would assume it's a villain.   Sure, he'd make an interesting Riddler but there are other villains.  And we are not even sure it's a villain he will be playing. 

The other news is that they are filming part of the movie in New Orleans.  I assume this is because of the tax credits though Georgia beats them on the tax credits.

[GhostMachine]

The thing about the Nolan Batman movies is that they're obviously trying to be closer to reality, which means we can pretty much forget about the more out there, super-powered villains such as Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc and Doctor Phosphorous being used.

Of the non-lame Bat-villains (ie, Cavalier, Kite Man, Signalman The Spook, etc) that haven't have already been used, that doesn't leave a lot of villains left. And other than Deadshot, I can't think of any non-powered Bat-villains I'd want to see that weren't already used in the previous series of Batman movies. Though I wouldn't mind seeing a properly done Bane....

[murs47]

I say Jason Todd/Red Hood.

[Tomato]

I say Jason Todd/Red Hood.

And how to explain him without allowing for the existence of Robin?

[murs47]

I say Jason Todd/Red Hood.

And how to explain him without allowing for the existence of Robin?

Bruce mentions multiple times in the Dark Knight that he doesnt intend to be Batman forever. Perhaps he chooses a protege(Jason Todd) to train and eventually replace him. It doesn't pan out because Jason's interpretation of justice isn't the same as Bruce's.

[Tawodi Osdi]

As far as non-powered Batman villains go, Poison Ivy started out as gimmick using street level character posing as a super hero with a plant motif.  She didn't get real powers until much later in her development. 

She could be re-introduced using her original origin; so, that she can betray Batman at a dramatically appropriate time.

[GhostMachine]

If I was going to write a Batman movie using Jason Todd in it without him being/having been Robin, and without using the Lazarus Pit or the Joker having been the Red Hood before he was the Joker, I'd do it like this:

Jason's parents are career criminals who are gunned down by the police after a standoff. However, unlike Bruce, Jason isn't there to witness it, and isn't exactly upset by their deaths. In fact he hated his parents because they were never there for him (he was either raised by other relatives, taken away by social services and went through several foster homes, or sent off to boarding school) and he trained in martial arts to cope. Their deaths make him snap, and he becomes a bloodthirsty vigilante. Jason and Batman end up at odds throughout the movie, but Jason ends up accidentally hurting (not killing, but enough to require a trip to the emergency room) innocent bystanders while trying to take down some criminals, and that makes him reconsider his methods. He ends up not only teaming with Batman to fight an actual Bat-villain but ends up saving Batman's life at one point in the fight, and at the end he surrenders to police and willingly goes to prison to serve penance.

If you need a Joker connection and/or an explanation for the Red Hood gimmick, its simple: His parents were working for the Joker when they got shot to death by the police, and his father was the first Red Hood.

(This basically combining Jason with a fairly obscure villain called The Wrath, who was sort of an evil version of Batman, whose parents were crooks shot by Gordon)

[lugaru]

Have Gail Simone consult, I love her Bane.

Otherwise I'll check it out when it starts take form, it is a little early now. Riddler is a huge challenge, I've seen good Riddler stories but the character lends itself to the worse Batman camp excesses.

[Mr. Hamrick]

I've stated for a while that my top four that I think would be good for part three would be Prof. Hugo Strange, The Riddler, Black Mask, and The Mad Hatter.

Professor Hugo Strange - Noted psychologist called in by the GCPD to get a psychological profile on Batman.  He develops a fixation on Batman.  He'd be a great secondary villain and maybe a main one.  

The Riddler - The character was already alluded to in the viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight.  He is the writer of a letter to the editor in issue 2 of The Gotham Times.  He goes off on Dent and claims that Dent is not the shining knight that Gotham believes him to be.  In the third movie, he sets out to "expose" the Batman and perhaps still wants to expose Harvey Dent as Two Face.  That same issue has an ad for The Iceberg Lounge, by the way.

The Black Mask - Mobster who has an obsession with physical beauty but is somehow scarred and forced to wear a mask to conceal what he feels is his now disfigured face.  The twist here would be that the initial scarring would all be psychological.  At the end, he winds up scarred for real.

The Mad Hatter - Real simple.  He has an Alice in Wonderland obsession.  He is kidnapping girls in Gotham.  Pretty straightforward but could take a real darker tone.


As for the women...

Catwoman - I will be shocked if she doesn't show up.  She is arguably one of the most well known Bat villains after The Joker.  Plus, you have the notion that Nolan might be needing to clean up the mess made by that Halle Berry fiasco and even the inaccurate portrayal in Batman Returns.  She is a jewel thief first and foremost.  I think she should be stealing for the thrills, at first.  The key would be her interaction with Batman and Selina Kyle interacting with Bruce.

Posion Ivy - As Tawodi mentioned, Posion Ivy started out with more of a plant gimmick than having super powers.  I say push her in the direction of being a deranged environmentalist who is targeting Gotham businessmen for what she deems as their crimes against the Earth.  One of those targets is Bruce Wayne.

Talia - Included here only because she'd be easy to introduce given that her father was the villain of the first film.  


All that said, I was thinking that we will probably see Arkahm Asylum back.  If we do, then we'd need someone to play Jeremiah Arkahm, maybe.

I'm against Bane being the mix.  The same logic that keeps Killer Croc out of the mix and Mr. Freeze out of the mix should keep Bane out.  Too much bordering on "superhuman ability" that could be explained but the explaining of which would take more effort than really necessary.

Deathstroke would be interesting maybe.  However, this is only if he is hired by the mob to go after Batman.  The problem here is there is no real mob leader in the film timeline at this point.  (Which is why I think Black Mask will be a secondary villain!)  However, Deathstroke would not be much of a villain to do a story around.  He's not really all that interesting.

I've heard rumor that they may try to go back to Killer Croc's original origin and having him as a circus freak with a skin condition.  This rumor apparently got started because of the location scouting in New Orleans.  Personally, I hope it doesn't happen.

There are reports that not all of the film would be taking place in Gotham.  This could be interesting as well.  Especially if it leads to an opening to Bruce discovering that he is not the only "hero" out in the world.

[UnkoMan]

Poor Penguin. I think he works fantastic as a mob boss. I actually had hoped (and I may have mentioned it before) that the third movie would feature a bunch of flamboyant "freak" characters taking over the criminal element of Gotham. Penguin, Black Mask, Ventriloquist, Mad Hatter etc... You can even have guys like Killer Croc, looking far more human (isn't he suppose to just have a genetic disorder anyhow), or Firefly or whoever as enforcers. Just a bunch of weirdos in cameo appearances and Batman's got to deal with the fact that all the maniacs are totally out now.

Butttt whatever... Sure, go with Riddler. Obvious choice. I just hope they write him well unlike almost every appearance of Riddler anywhere ever. I really really love the villain, but don't think he is often well used.

[JeyNyce]

http://blastr.com/2010/10/batman-3-gets-a-title-nix.php

Director Christopher Nolan has revealed the title of his highly anticipated sequel to The Dark Knight—and knocked the odds-on favorite Bat-villain out of the running.

The Dark Knight Rises, as Batman 3 will now be called, won't see the Caped Crusader facing off against Edward Nygma, better known as the Riddler. Nor will he don the Bat-thermals to take down Mr. Freeze. Ever-elusive, all Nolan would say was "We'll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and we'll be introducing some new ones."

If the title The Dark Knight was, as Nolan has said, about Harvey Dent as much as it was Bruce Wayne, maybe the new title is a hint toward the resurrection of Two-Face ...

Nolan won't be shooting The Dark Knight Rises in 3-D—he's convinced Warner Brothers that his current plan of using high-definition and IMAX cameras is the prudent course for the 2012 release.

At least one A-list director isn't drinking the 3-D punch.

[Talavar]

Yay!  It's not going to be 3D, and it's not going to have the Riddler!

As to Two-Face returning, I think the article writer is reading too much into Nolan's comment about the previous title.

[Panther_Gunn]

The Dark Knight Rises -- I'm thinkin' Lazarus Pit.


.....and yay, no 3-D.

[JeyNyce]

The Dark Knight Rises sounds like:

A Twilight movie
A Pr0no
Any Vampire type movie.

I would have named it KnightFall or something from the comics.

[BWPS]

The Dark Knight Rises sounds like:

A Twilight movie
A Pr0no
Any Vampire type movie.

I would have named it KnightFall or something from the comics.

Seriously? I think avoiding "(k)night" puns is pretty much a good idea.