10 Things Future Batman Movies Must Do

3. Explore A Wider Variety Of Villains

Batman's rogues gallery is one of the best in comics. Most people know of the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, the Scarecrow, and Bane, but there are plenty of others that could work brilliantly in a movie. Why not introduce some more diverse enemies for Batman to face?

It's inevitable that Jared Leto's Joker will appear in a standalone Batman film at some point (it appears the two characters have some kind of confrontation in Suicide Squad), and given how unusual his take seems to be, it should be vastly different to either Nicholson or Ledger's performances.

However, Warner Bros. have a great opportunity to create different cinematic experiences by bringing in other villains. We could get a smaller, more subtle detective story based around Batman's efforts to stop Victor Zsasz, or a psychological thriller with Hugo Strange up to no good. On the other hand, a villain such as Clayface or Man-Bat could be genuinely frightening if done right, and force Batman to confront creatures outside of known science.

If characters are to be re-used from other films, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and the Riddler all deserve to be re-imagined without the ridiculousness of their previous big-screen incarnations. The Arkham series of video games in particular managed to find a brilliant blend of the fantastical and the gritty with these, an approach that could lend itself beautifully to a highly-stylised Batman movie.

Batman's variety of villains allows for the comics to cover a huge range of genres (horror, mystery, science-fiction, fantasy) and introducing a broader roster would give filmmakers the same freedom. Again, this is offering audiences a refreshing take on the character, appealing to those who may have found previous films less exciting than other comic book-based movies.