Chapter 799 - Major Revelation

"I think even without the Batman name, with our strong promotion, not many people will think it's not a Batman movie. We have posters, stills, and various promotional activities. Plus, 'The Dark Knight' is a great name, young people will definitely love it."

"What if? What if the audience doesn't accept it?"

"Then why don't we do a little test?" Nolan suggested, surprising everyone.

A little test?

"How do we do it?" Everyone was intrigued by his proposal.

Nolan cleared his throat, recalling how Laila had talked to him, then said, "Since everyone is unsure whether the audience will accept this new name without Batman, why not quietly release the news and see how the audience reacts? Laila is not an unreasonable person. If the audience feedback is not good, we can present the situation to her, and she probably won't insist on that name."

Upon hearing this, DC's representatives were the first to agree. They had been very confident in Laila's proposal from the beginning, always supporting the movie name she suggested. Rather than saying they had confidence in her, it was more accurate to say they had confidence in her ability to create successful superhero blockbusters. A second-tier Iron Man was enough for them to see her prowess. With their top Batman on board, they weren't worried about her making a loss, were they?

In their view, opposing Laila's proposal was completely unnecessary. If you could surpass others, why didn't you go make movies yourself?

So when Nolan made the proposal, DC's people were the first to support it. They believed Laila's proposal would work, so there was no need to worry about how the audience would react after knowing the name in advance.

After some thought, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures also agreed.

Thinking from a negative perspective, if the name was really not accepted by the audience, they could also take the results to negotiate with Laila. Thinking positively, if the audience liked the name, they would have helped promote the movie in advance, generating some attention for the film.

So the next day, a newspaper broke shocking news in a big exposé manner: "Batman Sequel Confirmed to be Titled 'The Dark Knight' without the Words 'Batman,' Directed by Laila Moran."

The bold, black title caught the readers' attention as soon as it hit the stands. Upon seeing this title, those who had some knowledge of Laila's work first thought, "Impossible!"

Who had seen Laila direct a sequel? Forget about "The Lord of the Rings"; that was all done in one go, wasn't it?

Most importantly, this was a big Batman movie! Batman was DC's superhero, and Marvel's boss was helping the competitor make money, was that really okay?

It was only at this moment that some people recalled a few months ago when newspapers had reported that Laila had acquired DC's stock. In other words, she was not only the boss of Marvel but also a shareholder of DC. Some had speculated at the time whether she was planning to merge the two comic companies to create something extraordinary. Looking back now, maybe at that time Laila had already had the possibility of filming a Batman movie.

Because she had become a shareholder of DC, the public didn't have much resistance to Laila's behavior as a boss making movies for a competitor. Instead, many comic fans, especially Batman fans, were very happy when they learned the news.

God knew they had long been envious of Marvel having a boss like Laila! She had money and could make whatever movie she wanted. She also had the ability; whichever movie she made would become popular worldwide. Although she has only made one Iron Man movie so far, looking at her other films, one could see that any film she made would cause a sensation worldwide.

Did this mean that their favorite Batman would finally become the world's most popular superhero?

Excited, the fans began to search for any information about Laila's filming of the Batman movie. Unfortunately, apart from what was reported in the newspaper, they couldn't find any other clues elsewhere.

This made some fans a little worried. What if the newspaper was just making things up? Calming down and thinking about it, how unlikely was this? Not to mention that Nolan had directed the previous film quite well, so the production company wouldn't easily change directors. Just talking about the sequel, had Laila ever directed one?

In this era of the internet, communication was very convenient, and many people who wanted to know the truth flocked to FB to ask about the authenticity of the matter under Laila's and several related companies' accounts.

Unable to answer all the messages flooding her account, Laila could only select some of the more concerning questions to answer. For example, some asked about the actors in the movie, whether Christian Bale would be replaced with her favorite actor, such as Roy, the youngest Oscar winner.

The audience was very clear that Roy was a very important figure in Laila's movies, appearing in almost every work. Not to mention always being the protagonist, sometimes even if he was just a supporting role, he would happily blend in. This was no longer a fresh topic among fans. Just like how Stan Lee always made a cameo in Marvel's movies, he had almost become a signature Easter egg in Laila's films.

Laila had to answer this question: "Christian is an outstanding actor. I think it was a very correct decision for Nolan to choose him to play Batman. In the new movie, I look forward to working with him, so no one will replace him. As for Roy, yes, he has passed the audition and will play a role in the movie. As for what role, that's a secret for now."