Chapter 90: Kevin's Counterattack

"Not for now. When Dawn Entertainment needs funding, we'll consider financing," Kevin rejected once again.

Robinov's displeasure was clearly visible on his face.

However, Kevin pretended not to see it and instead started considering other ideas in his mind.

Originally, he was planning to shoot the Fast and Furious series, but Warner Bros.' move sparked a thought of playing a trick on them.

As a director, Kevin definitely wanted to make a move in the film industry.

After some contemplation, a film concept he had previously considered suddenly appeared in his mind.

That concept was none other than Warner Bros.' prized possession, Batman.

Batman had always been Warner Bros.' beloved franchise. They started making Batman films since 1989.

In 1992, they even made a sequel to Batman, Batman Returns, which achieved a box office revenue of over $200 million.

However, considering the $80 million production cost of Batman Returns, it wasn't really profitable. Of course, subsequent rights income ensured that Warner Bros. didn't suffer any losses.

But clearly, it didn't do justice to Batman, the IP that the American audience was most familiar with.

Moreover, the poor reception also led Warner Bros. to suspend the Batman series directed by Tim Burton.

However, Kevin knew that they hadn't given up.

In the original timeline, next year, another Batman film was set to be released.

In this film, there were two actors known to the Chinese audience.

Tom Cruise's wife, Nicole Kidman, played a character who admires Batman, and Jim Carrey played the Riddler.

Through this film, Kevin believed that Jim Carrey was the only actor suitable for playing the Joker from the depths of his heart.

His control over his facial expressions, his transitions in demeanor.

Every aspect seemed to embody the essence of the Joker in the real world.

This reminded Kevin of Stephen Chow from Hong Kong, another comedic actor. Both of them surpassed the title of "Best Actor" with their acting skills.

They transcended the boundaries of ordinary people.

This reminded Kevin of Stephen Chow from Hong Kong, who was also a comedic actor, yet their acting skills surpassed those of the reigning film stars.

They transcended the boundaries of ordinary people.

A great comedian is inevitably an outstanding actor.

But since Kevin was here, he would undoubtedly go for the most classic Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight.

Although these three films would earn Warner Bros. a considerable amount of money, they would also drag Warner Bros.' vision for DC into an endless abyss.

Since Warner Bros. wanted to take action against him, Kevin had nothing to say.

By filming the trilogy in advance and plunging Warner Bros.' vision for DC into darkness, they would never rise again.

Coincidentally, Kevin had no intention of strictly following Marvel's original plan and gradually destroying Warner Bros.' DC.

This way, his Marvel could excel ahead of time.

Otherwise, if Warner Bros. copied their work and unexpectedly created a formidable opponent, it would not be good.

"Robinov, I want to make a different Batman!"

Kevin stated bluntly.

"You want to make Batman?"

Faced with Kevin's sudden idea, Robinov was extremely astonished.

Although Batman Returns, released two years ago, didn't lose money, it clearly didn't make a significant profit either. Its poor reception dealt a major blow to the Batman franchise.

As a result, Warner Bros. temporarily set aside their plans for the Batman series.

However, if it was Steve Kevin, it might be worth considering.

After all, Steve Kevin had already had four consecutive blockbuster movies. The chance of a Batman film directed by him also becoming a blockbuster was very high.

What's crucial was that they held the rights to Batman, just like how Kevin held the initiative with Pirates of the Caribbean.

If they made it well, apart from box office revenue, the real profits would still be theirs.

The only issue was that Kevin definitely wasn't the kind of person who would settle for just a salary. It was highly likely that he would want to invest in the project.

However, compared to the profits, it was acceptable.

"Okay, but you need to provide us with a complete project proposal. After the consideration of Warner Bros. executives, we can proceed with the filming."

"Also, Batman allows you to invest up to 30% of the funding, and you'll be the only investor."

"As for the rights revenue, Warner Bros. will give it to you, but similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, you can only enjoy a portion of the rights revenue."

Considering Kevin's impressive track record, Robinov agreed to give him a 30% investment share. However, the crucial rights and authorization aspects still remained under Warner Bros.' control.

"Robinov, I have a special idea."

Robinov frowned, waiting for Kevin to explain himself.

"We can shoot two to three films in one go."

"The silhouettes used for Batman will be consistent, and the actors can be shared. We can shoot a single film that lasts 300 minutes and then split it into two parts for release."

"This way, we can effectively contain the rising costs of actors' salaries."

"The only problem is that if the film fails, we will suffer significant losses. However, with me on board, Batman cannot fail."

Kevin explained his idea to Robinov. The concept was simple: produce two films with an equivalent production budget. This would help reduce the increased production costs resulting from a box office success.

The downside was that if the box office performance wasn't good, they would incur losses for two films.

No director would choose to do this unless they were highly confident.

The reason Kevin made this choice was simple: he didn't like shooting sequels separately.

While both parts of The Dark Knight trilogy were his favorites, these two parts were enough to establish the dark tone for DC.

Once Warner Bros. went down this path and Zack Snyder was on board, Kevin wondered how Warner Bros. could ever recover from their disastrous decisions regarding DC in the future.

Kevin firmly believed in a statement frequently made by future fans: DC's biggest enemy was not Marvel but Warner Bros. themselves.

Robinov raised his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "In principle, I agree, but I would like you to present a detailed project proposal."

Kevin nodded.

With his track record, Warner Bros. was unlikely to refuse his collaboration invitation.

However, this collaboration with Warner Bros. would inevitably drag DC into an endless abyss.

Yet Warner Bros. would never realize this. They would only think they had struck gold, completely unaware that the hundreds of millions they earned from Batman would ultimately destroy a DC universe worth billions or even trillions.

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