There’s been talk regarding a potential Batman musical for many years, but I never realised how close it got to becoming reality until I read Film Junk’s story on it today. Playwright David Ives was working on the script, Jim Steinman was composing, and Tim Burton himself was in line to direct. I’ve never been into musicals, people spontaneously bursting into song either on stage or screen always seems a little baffling… so Batman going all razzle dazzle probably wouldn’t have been to my tastes.
Nevertheless, there’s an online “memorial” site for this incarnation of Batman, which contains lyrics, articles on the project’s development and even some song demos on MP3. Here’s a sample of what to expect lyrics wise courtesy of the Film Junk guys:
“Where does Chicago get all that meat?
How does Venezuela get all their heat?
And where does Adidas find all their feet?
You’d like to know the answers now wouldn’t you boys?
Well, tell me, where does he get all those wonderful toys?”
Whether or not you’re into musicals, this site is a must read/listen for all Batman completists. The musical is definitely derived from Tim Burton’s two Batfilms and you have to wonder, could Batman Begins have killed this project? Previously Burton was responsible for the definitive live-action take on the character, with Begins being pretty successful, perhaps that made the idea of a Burton inspired musical a little harder to for the Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures company to sell.
