Bat Experts chime in on BATMAN 3 villains
Catwoman seems to be the favoured choice.
So we've already discussed at length the pro's and cons of who the next villain should be in the inevitable sequel to the $614 million worldwide (and still growing) biggest comic book film of all time The Dark Knight, where hopefully Christopher Nolan will still have enough interest in the Batman character to tell us one more story. Personally on reflection of seeing The Dark Knight, I would probably go for The Penguin as a heightened version of the kind of supporting character that both Eric Roberts and Tom Wilkinson played in the previous two movies. I would possibly bring back both Maroni & Falcone... and maybe have a three gang warefare as taken from the story arc in The Long Halloween.
I would certainly look at bringing in Talia Al Ghul, I think the next movie really does call for her presence. Bruce you have to believe will be needy in this time of Batman being more of an outcast than ever before... he would more likely be seduced by the femme fatale, you have to believe it will be either her or Catwoman. Two-Face seems a big possibility, if he ain't dead there is still a lot of room for the character to maneuver. I love The Riddler character and I really think they could do a great job with a serial killing movie in the vein of Se7en but Nolan has certainly left himself with the problem of how do you top The Joker? MTV spoke to some of the most well respected Batman and comic book writers in the industry who all gave their two cent on which villain they would like to see in the next movie... Grant Morrison (Arkham Asylum)...Ideally, you want another movie with Heath. Without him, Catwoman, but really think that one through. Give her a new take.Mark Waid (Infinite Crisis)...
Catwoman needs to be part of it, thats even more obvious now that hes living on the other side of life. What a great parallel to Batmans situation as a fugitive. But it would have to be something we havent seen before. The jewel thief thing was interesting, but its hard to relate to a jewel thief. Its even harder to relate to a prostitute. It would be fun to see them put a spin on a less obvious one like they did with Ras Al Ghul. Id be hankering for the Mad Hatter. Granted, crimes about hats are a specialized field, but if you take it back to Alice in Wonderland, and give it a weird, almost psychedelic worldview from that, it could be cool in their hands.Tim Sale (The Long Halloween)...
s such a powerful and sexual and strong woman, and I like that. But god, I hope not as Frank Millers version of her as a prostitute. Thats the worst part of Year One. Thats just Frank trying to be outrageous. It didnt ring remotely true to me.Steve Niles (30 Days of Night)...
Id like to see Catwoman over the Penguin. Not as a prostitute, and not as the Tim Burton version what, cats sniffed her back to life? but perhaps the Adam Hughes design, with the goggles. Thats very realistic. I can imagine her in street clothes that are designed just right. I also like the idea of them creating villains just for the movies.Jeph Loeb (The Long Halloween)...
Theres a great story to be told of the triangle between Bruce/Batman and Selena/Catwoman. I love writing her. She plays with him like a ball of yarn. Shes the only one that makes him all rigid when he talks to her.Claudio Sanchez (The Armory Wars)...
I would pick the Calendar Man (Julian Gregory Day). Long Halloween and Dark Victory happen to be my favorite collections. Hes not an iconic character, but he means a lot to me. Im called the Calender Man on the Coheed and Cambria tour bus, because Im always on time. But hes more like a Hannibal Lector figure.Geoff Johns (Green Lantern: Rebirth)...
At one point, Batman had a therapist, Hugo Strange, who was actually a great villain.Dan DiDio (DC Comics Executive Editor)...
When Hugo Strange found out about Batmans identity through analysis, he drugs him and takes over his identity. But realistically, there are limits to what villains can play. You cant have Killer Croc Characters like Catwoman, Riddler, and Hugo Strange make sense, because theyre counterpoints to Batmans psychosis and fears. The Joker creates chaos. Two-Face shows the duality of the Batman-Bruce Wayne relationship, and how Batmans found peace with that duality. Batman searches for answers, and the Riddler has questions. Batman is driven, and Catwoman is sexual. They play well against each other and challenge aspects of what makes a hero. At one point, Batman had a therapist, Hugo Strange, who was actually a great villain.If history tells us anything, I would expect to hear very little on a potential Batman 3 until the end of next summer, possibly at the San Diego Comic Con. It may even be a little later than that because I think this movie took more out of Chris Nolan than the previous one did, so he might need a longer time to rest. I would think no later than October we should hear about what his next project is, which like The Prestige is likely to be a smaller more personal effort but by no means any less interesting.