DC, Warner Bros. Putting Batman On Stage

Eek, do we need a Batman stage show just as it's being announced that the troubled Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark now has a $50 million budget...and no stars, since Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming have bolted? Apparently, we do, or so Warner Bros. and DC Comics think. They're developing a tour - Batman Live - that isn't a musical or theatrical production in the classical sense, but is instead "an elaborate arena production aimed at kids and families," say The Hollywood Reporter. Eek, again. Alan Burnett, who has written some Batman animation before, will develop the script for the touring show, which - surprise, surprise - is being driven by Warner Bros. Consumer Products. It's all about the licensing, kids. But here's one little note that might interest you: In the Reporter article, the discussion of when this show will launch is mentioned. Why would one target date be 2012? Because it would be timed to follow Christopher Nolan's third Batman film, which is the closest thing yet to a release date on that film that we've heard from a fairly reputable source. I've always thought it would be 2012 because of the way the studio staggers Batman and Harry Potter, but nobody listens to me. In a way, I think I prefer this Batman on Ice variation over what Julie Taymor is trying to do with Spidey. It's so completely disconnected with the current Bat franchise, there's no way serious fans could consider it an infringement.