EA and WB begin Batman Begins

After the disastrous Batman & Robin, the consensus in the film industry was that the DC Comics-inspired film franchise was in deep trouble. Following the success of the first The Matrix, Warner Bros., the studio the owns the Batman film rights, decided to inject fresh vigor into the series by bringing a young, edgy director on board.

After considering Pi director Darren Aronofsky, the studio settled on Christopher Nolan, who is best known for directing Memento. Nolan decided to not only return the film to the gothic roots established by Tim Burton's Batman, but to also take it in an even darker direction. Batman Begins will focus on the origins of the caped superhero, showing how Bruce Wayne, driven by his parents' murder, wandered the earth, acquiring the skills necessary to become a ruthless vigilante. Early drafts of Blade scribe David S. Goyer's script indicate that this Batman, played by American Psycho's Christian Bale, will be much more ruthless indeed.

Sounds like it would make an awesome game, eh? Good news: It will. Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, DC Comics, and Electronic Arts announced that they are developing a multiplatform action game based on Batman Begins. Due for release alongside the film in 2005, the game will be released for the Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance--and Sony's upcoming portable, the PSP.

"Batman Begins is the darker depiction of Batman that we've all been waiting for, and we are teaming with EA to bring players an edgy action game that captures this tale," said Jason Hall, senior vice president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Development of Batman Begins for consoles will be handled by Eurocom, the studio behind James Bond 007: NightFire and the upcoming Spyro: A Hero's Tail. The portable versions will be handled by Vicarious Visions, developers of the console version of Doom 3. Warner Bros. and EA are "overseeing all development and production aspects of the game," but EA will publish the game solo.

GameSpot will have more on Batman Begins as details emerge.