4. The Casting Rumours
And along with that mouthwatering batch of villain rumours, we've been bombarded with a raft of casting rumours to fill the trailers on set since Triumphant was announced and initially green-lit. And how could we not be excited about seeing Madonna, that embodiment of sexuality and cookie behaviour pulling on Harley Quinn's sexy jester's outfit? Or Martin Short given the opportunity to pull a Jim Carrey on The Mad Hatter? Or particularly the opportunity to see Nicholas Cage, who has proved himself more than capable of making gripping action movies as well as engaging human comedies, lording it over Batman as the unhinged, maniacal Scarecrow? Talk about some perfect casting! And then of course the returning cast - George Clooney wasn't given enough scope to play Batman his own way in Batman & Robin, but he undoubtedly has a lot of potential as a big screen actor; Chris O'Donnell is a great sidekick, and Alicia Silverstone has the right blend of physical attractiveness and moxy to pull off the Batgirl role. All three have big futures, and the first step should be more Batman. But the biggest draw here is the rumoured inclusion of Jack Nicholson as The Joker (and Harley Quinn's dear departed Daddy,) who surpassed even Cesar Romero in the perfect casting stakes, and who will never himself be dethroned. His performance was perfect - menacing and grotesque, and unless someone can entirely reinvent the character without abandoning the source, it will remain the definitive Joker performance. So a return to the franchise is just too good to resist.