Warner Bros. Sent A Cease-And-Desist Letter To Uwe Boll Ordering Him Not To Use ‘The Dark Knight’ As The Title Of His Next Film, But It’s Not Stopping Him
You can call him controversial or polarizing, but you can’t deny that German director Uwe Boll is bold as he further proves the lengths he is willing to go. His next movie stars Armie Hammer who is trying to restore his reputation, and bears a quite familiar title.
Boll’s film, which wrapped production, has nothing to do with Batman or DC, but is called “The Dark Knight“. For this, he got the attention of the IP’s owner and they weren’t pleased.
Warner Bros. sent Boll a letter ordering him to refrain from using the same title as the 2008 Christopher Nolan film. He, however, is not giving in. Addressing the drama on his podcast, Boll said (via World of Reel) “DC and Warner already contacted [me] and said I can’t use the title.”
Pleading his case, he added, “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.”
Boll made a film called Rampage years before the 2018 kaiju movie based on the Midway arcade game that starred Dwayne Johnson. It was co-produced by New Line Cinema, which is a division of Warner Bros., who also distributed the blockbuster.
The mere fact a major studio with deep pockets had to ask Boll permission to use a pedestrian title when it already belongs to the game they’re adapting is strange. Moreover, he is not even the first person to use “Rampage” as a title.
The late William Friedkin made a true crime thriller by that name in 1987 with a dramatic production history of its own. Shelved for five years due to producer Dino De Laurentiis going bankrupt, it was later recut, acquired by the Weinsteins, and released in 1992.
Both Friedkin’s and Boll’s Rampage had a violent and disturbing tone that the latter wants to return to. His Dark Knight promises to be a “very dark and violent” reflection of modern Europe which is plagued by migrant crimes.
Boll wants to be gritty and real, unlike the superhero movies he despises. “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?” he said.
He ended his rant with one last “They suck,” which probably won’t help his case.
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