This is an article I've been sitting on for a while and with SDCC here I decided to polish it off and post it..
The speculation won’t stop on the Villain/Villains for the next Batman movie until there are actual pictures of the actors/actresses cast BUT here is how I think they could be done..
We all have our lists of who we would like to see in Christopher Nolan’s final chapter of HIS Batman series and without further ado, here are mine….
CATWOMAN. A smart sexy con artist who lives in the Narrows, Selina Kyle never shows her true identity to anyone (wigs, make-up etc) but she is greatly inspired by the Dark Knight. Her costume could consist of similar material to Batman. Finding and seducing a weapons manufacturer who also deals in Kevlar, Selina could easily sneak into his warehouse and steal guns and armor. Her mask could even cover her entire face so maybe even the audience would be guessing who she was until the very end of her story arc. Bruce doesn’t always need a new love interest in each new movie, like in TDK his “covers” work perfectly. Batman and Catwoman should interact, not Bruce and Selina, if they have to interact then Selina should just walk by Bruce at a charity function or something of that nature but that is all. Catwoman is strong and cunning but also mysterious and clever, she deserves to be done right and Christopher Nolan can do her justice.
PENGUIN. An overweight club owner (maybe the same club Batman went to in The Dark Knight) with a napoleon complex who used to deal in rare black market merchandise. I think this character would be really good as an informant to the police and Batman. I like what I’ve read before about the Penguin having small role ala Victor Zsasz, you don’t even have to call him Penguin, just Oswald would work.
RIDDLER. This one is tough. The Riddler has always been compared to a poor man’s Joker and I know that in Christopher Nolan’s hands he could be done right, I’m just not sure yet that he could carry an entire movie as the main bad guy. The only way I could see it being done right is if he was an apprentice to The Joker, someone behind the scenes that we never saw in TDK. Someone who was always a follower and needed to create his own crazy persona to impress those he admired. What better way to impress The Joker (in his mind) than by outsmarting Batman? Also Joseph Gordon-Levitt DOES look the “Heath Ledger Joker” part but how much cooler would it be to see that similarity put to use as The Riddler, scars and all?
HARLEY QUINN. Much like the Riddler, Harley Quinn could be an apprentice to the Joker. At some point towards the end of the movie, the audience is being show a woman (camera facing her back) walking down a corridor at Arkham Asylum. Carrying a clipboard, she is checking off inmates names when she reaches another door, she unlocks it and walks down another corridor. At the very end you can see security cameras pointing towards a locked room. The woman finally gets to the locked room and you hear her whisper, “Hi there pudding”.
MR. FREEZE. I know Christopher Nolan has said that Mr. Freeze won’t be in his Batman movies but I started thinking how he could be done. The name could be taken as a “Cold hearted enforcer” (not trying to get into AhNuld puns haha), or drug kingpin. Since meth is also known as “ice” then that could be an interesting twist on the name and with Victor Freeze (in modern continuity) being a scientist, makes even more sense. Just a thought but I like Mr. Freeze in the comics and there he should stay (or animated, BTAS: Heart of Ice….amazing storytelling written by Paul Dini and directed by Bruce Timm). If none of these then maybe just show his original name “Mr. Zero” on an inmate list at Arkham Asylum.
RAS AL GHUL. We didn’t see him NOT escape the train crash….you never know, he could pop up in a cameo PLUS he’s a frickin NINJA, come on….ninja, escape, surviving on a mountain top, ninja….you get my point. If Bruce finds another love interest, then maybe we don’t know who she really is until towards the end with Ras stepping out from the shadows and saying to Bruce, “I see you’ve met my lovely daughter”(IMO Talia Al Ghul could be played by Debora Nascimento at least in the looks department) A new bodyguard for Ras could even be called “Shiva” or just Sandra. Just a nod to the character.
TWO-FACE. Harvey Dent is dead….Two-Face on the other hand….
BLACK MASK. In the same vein as Mr. Freeze or the Penguin, Black Mask aka Roman Sionis could play a small role in the movie. Black Mask, with his entire face tattooed like a skull, is a ruthless gang leader taking a cue from The Joker to try and up the ante in Gotham City. A main baddie? I don’t think so but an important character? Yes. Black Mask could be a great example of what Gotham City’s criminals are turning into and why Batman is truly needed.
CLAYFACE. Catwomans mentor, Clayface, a name taken from an old movie character, is a master of disguise going by the aliases of Basil Karlo, Matt Hagen, Preston Payne and even Sondra Fuller just to name a few. A true con artist who has been living “off the grid” for even longer than he (or she?) can remember, “Clayface” has seen the chaos in Gotham City LONG before Batman arrived to try and stop it and decided to “disappear” and live life on his/her terms. Once again a minor character but it would be cool to see this interpretation on film since I myself am a fan of the “realistic approach” of Batman.
KILLER CROC. I read on this site recently how the Brian Azzarello written and Edward Risso drawn Batman arc “Broken City” portrayed Killer Croc in a believable light….I agree. Killer Croc IS one of the more unbelievable rogues in Batman’s rolodex. So instead….Wearing suits made of crocodile skin, Waylon Jones or “Killer Croc” as he’s known by his bosses is a ruthless money hungry drug addict ex wrestler who now works for the highest bidder to take care of pesky problems. Bane could be done in the same way and they could even be henchmen for Mr. Freeze or The Ventriloquist.
THE VENTRILOQUIST. Arnold Wesker, unbeknownst to anyone is the main bad guy “pulling the strings”. By day he is an average citizen who no one even takes time to notice but that’s just how he sets things up to be. He’s ordinary, a classic 9 to 5 type of guy. Going by the name The Ventriloquist, he pits the mob and the “crazies” against each other to gain more power and money for himself. Gotham City is just a game to him and Batman is just in his way. Upon reaching The Ventriloquists hideout, all police can find is a puppet sitting at a computer chair facing a massive screen of people The Ventriloquist has been keeping tabs on. (I just read The Questions awesome article and I could easily see this as a villain that works in the day and the night..great article by The Question, check it out)
Before you read this next part I want everyone to know who is reading this article that I like Batman “in the real world” but I’m a Comic Book fan so this IMHO would actually be really cool to see....
Maybe at the end of the movie we see all of the villains, past and present, getting ready to attack Batman and maybe that would be the time for him to get some help….”Man of Steel”….hmmm??
OR end the movie with Batman at the Bat Computer (YES BATCAVE PLEASE-“l thought this might be a good opportunity for improving the foundations in the southeast corner”). Batman looks up on the screen as you hear a news reporter say, “Sources say this is no hoax, the image you are about to see is real….then another news reporter says.. “Reports JUST in of an Unidentified Flying….Man?? Show the Bat Computer screen with a blurred dash of red and blue in the sky and then end the movie.