4. Man Bat Played By Jackie Earle Haley
This character was previously going to appear in Joel Schumacher's Batman Triumphant, and thank God that never happened, because we would probably never have had the opportunity to see Nolan relaunch Batman. But then, that does not diminish him as a character. In Batman: The Animated Series and even The Batman series portrayed this character well. In a way, he resembles The Lizard from the Spider Man universe, in that he is a scientist trying to cure something in himself using animal DNA, who ultimately turns into a villain. Kirk Langstrom desperately wanted to cure his deafness by experimenting with bats, accidentally transforming himself into the Man Bat, and going on a bloodthirsty hunt killing citizens, which the public pinned on Batman. If this movie sets up Batman fighting for a few years now instead of another origin story, then it could make for an interesting story, with the public opinion shifting away from Batman. There would also be opportunity to introduce Jim Gordon in a good way, first having him believe Batman to be a villain, only to then become his partner when he realizes Man Bat is the true villain. This could also add a dark horror theme to the movie, once again making it more than a superhero movie. As for who should play the leather winged foe, I think Jackie Earle Haley would be perfect for this role. He proved he can play a terrifying character with portraying Rorschach in Watchmen, and even as Freddy Kreuger in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, he was clearly the best part of both those movies. He was also nominated for an Oscar for his role in 2006's Little Children, and adding Oscar nominated actors to your cast can always bring critical acclaim, even for a small character. Even in human form, Haley looks rather creepy and has the perfect 'weird scientist' kind of look, so he would be great both as Kirk Langstrom and Man Bat. The only reason I could think they wouldn't do this is because it may require a lot of CGI, though I would suggest make up would be a better approach, necessarily enhanced by CGI to retain the human-link of the performance.