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  • Tim Burton’s Big Bruce Wayne idea led to the success of the MCU, says Batman Producer -TGN

Tim Burton’s Big Bruce Wayne idea led to the success of the MCU, says Batman Producer -TGN

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  • Tim Burton’s decision to focus on Bruce Wayne instead of Batman in the 1989 film was a game changer and opened the door to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

  • By grounding the character and exploring Bruce Wayne’s struggles, Burton made Batman relatable to audiences and created a compelling movie icon.

  • Burton’s approach to highlighting a superhero’s inner darkness and making him inherently human influenced the MCU’s success in creating relatable characters.

Director Tim Burton’s big Bruce Wayne idea led to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to one Batman movie producer. Burton directed two films focusing on DC’s Dark Knight, starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne in 1989’s Batman and its sequel, 1992’s Batman returns. Afterwards, Burton was replaced and Keaton was recast Batman forever (1995). Before leaving, the duo made their mark on the superhero medium.

During an interview on Crossing the starsBatman franchise producer Michael Uslan claimed Burton’s big Bruce Wayne idea opened up “the door to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “

The idea that the Batman franchise producer describes as the “game changerwas Burton’s decision to have 1989’s Batman focus on Bruce Wayne instead of his superhero persona because the director felt it was the only way to “make the very first dark and serious comic book superhero movie.” Uslan ends by saying that Burton’s big idea “brought comic books into a contemporary global worldSee the full quote below:

It was Tim Burton who came up with what I always call “the big idea.”

This is the game changer. This is the big idea that not only made Batman a success, but also opened the door to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He said to me, “Michael, if we’re going to make the very first dark and serious superhero movie ever, this movie can’t be about Batman.” Okay. That was my most apoplectic moment of my entire existence. And then he explained. He said, ‘This movie has to be about Bruce Wayne.

And he was absolutely right. Look at the Marvel movies. Stan (Lee) admitted this to me, and I’m sure Kevin Feige would agree: The ‘Iron Man’ movies, I love them, they should be called Tony Stark. The movie ‘Spider-Man’ should actually be called Peter Parker. So it’s an idea that has worked and brought comic books into today’s global world.

Why Batman director Tim Burton was right

Burton was right in his decision. Batman was a character whose dark appeal was not known to the public at the time, with Adam West’s light-hearted 1960s Batman series being the most famous version of the character to the general public at the time. By focusing on Bruce Wayne’s struggles, Burton managed to ground his dark take on the character, making Batman a relatable hero despite his billionaire status and crime-fighting shenanigans.

Bruce Wayne is someone who went through one of the greatest traumas anyone can ever go through, when he saw his parents murdered right in front of him. By focusing on Bruce’s inner darkness and how that made him Batman, Burton made the character an instant cinematic icon, with the general public who had never read a comic quickly adopting the director’s compelling version of the character rather than the caricature presented in the series starring West.

from Burton Batman there really was a lot at stake, and despite being a story centered on comic book characters wearing skimpy outfits, it was very compelling, as the movie put the audience in Bruce’s point of view. Based on that, Batman franchise producer Uslan is correct in saying that Burton’s big Batman idea led to the success of the MCU, as Marvel Studios also focuses on making its superhero characters like Tony Stark and Peter Parker so inherently human despite their larger-than-life adventures, because that’s the best way to connect audiences to the characters and their stories.

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