That Black Flying Rodent (AKA Batman 2)

[Delphine]

Did anyone else get the impression Two Face died in that last fall? Taking the heat for all his killings to leave his legacy as a hero intact seems like a stupid thing to do if he's still running around killing people. I've heard rumors he'd be the villain in movie #3, but those are just rumors, after all.

Seeing as how they had a funeral for him...

[Locit]

Plus I seem to recall Gordon checking his pulse and pretty much confirming that yeah, Dent was dead.

[Segaholic2]

I'm very curious what will happen with a third movie. I'd expect that it would follow the Batman movie tradition of having two villains per film, but I think Nolan's used all the relevant villains. I can only think of a few who might be appropriate with the tone he's setting. Maybe Killer Croc or Clayface, but that's reaching into supernatural territory. I don't think he'd use any characters from the other Batman films because they're too cheesy, and the same can be said of introducing Robin.

Killer Croc and Deadshot were both used already in the "Gotham Knight" direct-to-video anime movie thing, which is kind of an indirect lead-in to the Dark Knight movie.

[Esrever]

It'd be nice to see a Batman film that did a proper job with Mr. Freeze.

[Rob-Bert]

The animated Batman: Sub-Zero film doesn't count?

[Esrever]

A live-action Batman film, I mean. Animated Mr. Freeze is what made me love the character so much!

[Segaholic2]

A live-action Batman film, I mean. Animated Mr. Freeze is what made me love the character so much!

TAS is what made Mr. Freeze more than a gimmick villain in the first place.

[cjmcray]

I dont think there's any way to make Mr Freeze in Nolan's Batman series. He tries to keep things somewhat realistic.

Nolan expressed interest in Harley Quinn in an interview shortly before Begins was released. I think it would be interesting if she was a solo-villain in the next film. A nutjob fascinated with The Joker, who "takes up the mantle" for him, but is also a genius, making it a real battle of wits with Batman. The Joker could have cameos in he shadows of his cell, so we never see his face. Maybe put The Penguin in too. Someone mentioned once that Philip Seymour Hoffman was going to play a more realistic Penguin. Being an arms dealer, and his "Penguin" name would just be a mobster-type nickname.

[Segaholic2]

Penguin's boring and Harley Quinn would be dumb.

[Rob-Bert]

The Penguin's my second favorite Batman villain and Harley Quin would be awesome if done right.

[Senbei]

Okay, I looked through a rogue's gallery and the only one that might work is Scarface, who may be too minor a villain to cast. Still, I can imagine him in a Nolan film and the concept is totally crackerjack, especially if he was teamed with Killer Croc or Bane.

[Rob-Bert]

We all know it's most likely to be the Penguin, the Riddler, or Catwoman. One or two of those.

[Zeta]

It's sad that Nolan is trying to be too damn realistic, as Mr. Freeze would be my choice for 3. He really deserves better treatment than fucking Arnold smoking a cigar while singing Christmas carols and EATING DIAMONDS.

As it is, they're kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel. Scarface, Firefly, Mad Hatter, Black Mask, Clayface, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, Man-Bat, and Killer Moth are the only villains yet to be done.

Black Mask is the most likely, as he was supposed to be in the Dark Knight but cut for time. Unfortunately, he's a generic crime boss and nobody really gives a fuck about him.

Mad Hatter is the best bet, I'd think, since he's easy to make creepy as fuck and mind control would be an interesting premise for 3.

I kind of want Dick Grayson to be introduced in 3. Not as Robin, just as Bruce's adopted son.

[Locit]

He really deserves better treatment than fucking Arnold smoking a cigar while singing Christmas carols and EATING DIAMONDS.

Read this again and tell me it doesn't sound totally awesome.

[Opa-Opa]

It does.

How about Poison Ivy? Nobody seems to remember her.

I don't know who could be cool here. Maybe the Penguin, but I have no idea how to make him not too realistic or too unrealistic. Scarface could be nice, with the whole gangster scene and stuff. As long as they don't go for Al Pacino playing it. Maybe Paul Giamatti.

[Zeta]

The Penguin and the Riddler are both well-known, but really lame. Penguin is just a really goofy mobster with a creepy bird obsession and killer umbrellas. I can't see him being anything but a nuisance and that's the way he's usually written in the comics these days. The Riddler doesn't even want to be a real threat. He hates killing people and he only ever threatens it if he wants attention from Batman so they can play puzzle games with eachother. He's scared of Batman's other villains.

Poison Ivy is great, but she was invented solely to cause tension between Batman and Robin, so she kind of loses something if Robin isn't there. She's great if she's paired up with Harley Quinn. They're like the goofy, bisexual version of Bonnie and Clyde mixed with Laurel and Hardy. A Batman vs Harley and Ivy movie is something I'd pay to see.

[Malchik]

I'd like to see a Scarecrow come back but I'm biased because he's my favorite Batman character.

I could totally see clay face falling into a good story but he'd have to drop the realism trend to accomplish it. Mr. Freeze woud also be an awesome choice.

[Brazillian Cara]

What about Lock-Up? If anything, he's the closest thing in Batman's rogue's gallery (that wasn't used yet) to a "normal" villain. That, or turning Poison Ivy into a non-mutant eco-terrorist.

Yeah, I've seen the movie. Can't be arsed to say anything right now, other than EXCELLENT. (I thought Ledger's acting was a bit overrated, but heck if it wasn't praise-worthy.)

[cjmcray]

I'm sure everyone is aware, but TDK has broken a bunch of box office records the past week

-Biggest midnight screenings
-Biggest opening
-Biggest IMAX opening

Its estimated that over the weekend TDK will make more money than Indiana Jones has over the whole summer in just 10 days.

I think I speak for a majority of people when I say this movie deserves every penny it gets.

[James McGeachie]

In terms of villains for a next movie, remember not to imagine the villains as what they currently are and more how the concept of their character would work in Bale's universe. Okay, maybe most of you are already doing that but remember that applies to look and personality traits.

I had some odd idea earlier (just saw the movie, one of the best films I've ever seen and I'll leave it at that) of how they could rework characters like "Bane" to have similar circumstances to real world people like Dwayne Chambers. Proud British Olympic athlete who's reputation was marred with steroid abuse and despite trying to clean up his act has been permanently punished for life (it seems) no matter how he appeals. That backstory could lead his character to continue indulging in steroid abuse because being "clean" wouldn't achieve anything for him anyway. Nothing like the original character at all really but just ways they could incorperate more reliastic real world traits into the vague character concept of a pre-existing Batman villain.

The same could go for any villain really, trying to re-visualise them as new characters but with the same names and general themes.

[Zeta]

I could see Poison Ivy working in that context as a chemical-based ecoterrorist who engineers murder weapons from ingredients she farms from rare plants.

[James McGeachie]

Is it just me or is the edit function missing? I meant to say Nolan's universe, not Bale's!

Bale is the only thing I'd really remove from Nolan's version. Well, his voice at least.

[DackAttac]

Edit function is only available immediately after you post in case you make some crippling typo. I think after two to five minutes or so, your post is locked in.

Christian Bale isn't the most charismatic character, and his voice as Batman is kind of laughable. But I think the whole point of Batman Begins was to show why he's not charismatic. And Harvey Dent was kind of a "look-what-happens-when-you-rely-too-much-on-charisma" example.

[RocketPunch]

I just saw it, and it's easily the greatest superhero movie I've ever seen. I usually hate the superhero movies... I see two guys in brightly colored costumes fighting on a building and it's supposed to be ~*REAL... It's all just asking me to suspend too much of my disbelief. But I can't remember the last time I was so excited about a movie, so into the plot and on the edge of my seat. The Joker's probably the most clever villain I've ever watched, and Heath Ledger nailed the role. And I couldn't even keep up with all of the plot twists after awhile.

I still don't know if I like this one more than the first one. Yes, this one was much more action-packed, and the characters were more fascinating, and the plot was more riveting, but I really liked the whole "Your actions define who you are" theme from the first movie, and I felt like a clear-cut theme was missing from this second one. I probably just have to watch it a second or third time, when I'll be less distracted by the plot. Anyone care to explain what they think the theme for this movie was?

[Zeta]

Probably that people are both worse and better than you'd expect.