It is pretty obvious that I am unbelievably stoked to see The Dark Knight Rises tomorrow at midnight. I am a huge Batman fan and have been waiting to see a series like this for as long as I can remember. Nice work and thank you Christopher Nolan. That having been said, I got to thinking tonight about all of the villains that we have seen since Tim Burton's 1989 Batman until now. We obviously have both good and bad interpretations of famous foes to Batman but I also got to thinking about all of the villains not used. Below is my list of villains that have either never appeared in a Batman film before or ones that I would like to see in the next reboot of Batman and who I would like to see play them. After you read, please respond with your list.
Never Used
1. Professor Hugo Strange- Professor Strange has always intrigued me ever since I discovered his existence in the world of Batman. He is a man who is obssessed with Batman and wants to become him. So what does he do? Tortures and researches his way to finding out that Bruce Wayne is Batman. I won't spoil the rest in case this happens one day but he is a lunatic with an agenda. Slight change of pace from The Joker who has no agenda. Who would play him? None other than my personal favorite, Robin Williams.
2. Black Mask- Black Mask is an interesting villain. His story is dark and his origins are very similar to that of Bruce Wayne's. Roman Sionis is the man who eventually becomes Black Mask and why he does so is even more fascinating. He is young, rich, and jealous having always lived in the shadow of Bruce Wayne. A very creepy story, indeed. Who would play him? I would not mind seeing Ryan Gosling in this role.
3. Victor Zsasz- We saw glimpses of him in Batman Begins. It was a nice little Easter Egg for Batman fans. Zsasz is a psychopath who carves marks in his skin after every person that he kills. He is ruthless. He is a very believable villain who can be seen running around in any part of the world yet is still a test for Batman. Who would play him? Leonardo DiCaprio or Edward Norton.
Who would I like to see in a reboot?
1. The Riddler- I love Jim Carrey and I think he played the part perfectly for the type of movie he was in. Could he play the true darker version of the character? Of course. I would have LOVED to seen a Riddler in Nolan's series. Oh well. Who would play him? I know he is old now, but if they made the story right, Kevin Spacey would be phenomenal in my opinion. I know it may sound cliche since he is named for everything, but Johnny Depp would actually be pretty ideal as well. Maybe even Steve Carell.
2. Two-Face- He is just an essential villain to any Batman franchise and he was done great in The Dark Knight, but was not used in the way that he should have been. He fit into the story good for that movie, but Two-Face eventually ruled the underworld of Gotham. He just completely lost his mind and gave up any hope of ever being good again. Hugh Jackman should take on this role. He would be a perfect egotistical yet charming Dent and would pull off the snarling schizophrenic as well.
3. The Joker- To all nay sayers who think the role should be left alone. I am not saying try and top one of the greatest acting performances of all time. I am just saying let's be real. When they start another Batman franchise, there will be another Joker and we will all be eager to see who takes on the role. Jack Nicholson was perfect. Heath Ledger was unbelievable and perfect for this series. Who could play him in the future? I would love to see Sean Penn put on the legendary clown make-up.
Your thoughts on who you would like to see and who would play them?
