Uwe Boll Won’t Back Down After Warner Bros. Warns Him to Drop THE DARK KNIGHT Title From His Next Film
Infamous director Uwe Boll is stirring up controversy again, this time refusing to change the title of his next movie, The Dark Knight, despite a warning from Warner Bros. Discovery.
The film, which stars Armie Hammer in his so-called Hollywood comeback, is about a vigilante who takes justice into his own hands, and there’s no capes or Batmobiles involved.
Still, that hasn’t stopped WB from sending Boll a cease and desist letter, arguing the title is too closely tied to Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Batman classic. As you might have suspected, Boll isn’t backing down and is ready to fight back.
Boll said on The Uwe Boll Podcast Network (via World of Reel) "DC and Warner already contacted and said I can't use the title. I understand that but I told them, 'Guys, remember Rampage, the Rock movie? You used my title.'"
"The fact that they did that, and called me for permission, they could show gratefulness and say, listen, it's not a Batman movie and you can use the title."
He’s referring to his 2009 vigilante film Rampage, which shared its name with the 2018 Dwayne Johnson blockbuster based on the arcade game. Warner Bros. didn’t seem to have a problem with that shared title, so Boll sees no reason to change The Dark Knight.
The thing with that is Rampage is the title of the game that predates Boll’s film, so that’s a weak argument.
Unlike Nolan’s Batman film, Boll’s The Dark Knight won’t feature billionaires in batsuits. Instead, it's a violent action thriller tackling migrants and crime in Europe, with Hammer presumably playing the "white knight" out to save the day.
Boll went on to take some shots at superhero movies in general, echoing Martin Scorsese’s criticisms, saying:
"Most of the DC and Marvel films suck. They're too long and with endless CGI, and everything is fake and the stories suck. Especially Batman, how many Batman's do we want to watch? They suck."
There you have it. I’d expect nothing less from Boll. He’s just a wild man that marches to the beat of his own drum and you’ve gotta love him for that. Whether Warner Bros. takes legal action remains to be seen.