16 Mar 2004
With ''Batman Begins,'' which recently began production in Iceland for a summer 2005 release, director Christopher Nolan (''Memento'') will create a grittier, camp-free take on the superhero, with characters faithful to the comic books. Here they are:
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WHO? An evil genius who's at least 600 years old
IN THE MOVIE Ra's Al Ghul -- whose name supposedly means ''Demon's Head'' -- is Batman's chief antagonist. He's gained eternal life by bathing in a mysterious chemical pool known as the Lazarus Pit, and like most immortal, evil geniuses, he wants to rule the world. Watanabe, who has played samurai for years in Japanese films (and in last year's ''The Last Samurai''), shouldn't have trouble portraying Ghul's skills with a sword.
OUR BAT-WISH That the movie skips the comic-book subplot in which Batman falls in love with Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia.