Your Turn: Villains in Nolan's third 'Batman' movie

Posted Friday, September 5, 2008 at 4:44 PM Central

If there's one thing to rival the uproar we caused with the whole Titanic vs. Twilight discussion, it would be the little piece we wrote about the casting rumors for the sequel to The Dark Knight.

It seems that there is no shortage of opinions to these rumors or our suggestion that it would be cool to see Christopher Nolan tackle Bane in the next installment. Remember, these are simply rumors that have popped up online. Like anything you see online, they should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

Heck, Nolan hasn't even inked the deal for the third movie yet, so at best this is all whispered, third-hand wishful thinking. But, it doesn't make it any less fun to debate now does it?

A Purr-fect Catwoman

I'm sorry. But I can't see Cher as Catwoman. I love what Christopher Nolan has done with the Batman franchise,... But. Come. On. Maybe I'm looking too much at the comic-verse of Batman. He may want to go in the opposite direction of Michelle Pfeiffer's awesome, in my opinion, possibly iconic portrayal. "A vamp in her twilight years" sounds like Catwoman is old and doesn't have a reason to sustain her enjoyment of breaking the law.

Maybe that's the darkness in Catwoman he wants. But as an audience member in the theater, and possibly because I am a woman, but I always enjoyed watching the verbal, and sometimes physical foreplay between the characters. Catwoman has been a character that enjoys breaking the law to draw Batman from his cave; or his swanky penthouse if Wayne Manor is not finished being rebuilt.She is a woman and she enjoys being chased.

Catwoman is a very sexual character. Not that Cher can't be sexual; it's just not something that I would jump up and say it's the best idea I've heard. My personal choice, of the actresses that I have seen, Jessica Alba hits the top of my list. The character can always be written darker, and not so sex kitten.

-- Amber in IN

There's just something inherently hot about a woman talking about Catwoman and "the verbal, and sometimes physical foreplay between the characters."

As for Cher as Catwoman? God help us if that happens. I think that Catwoman will be the next villan though; it is even foreshadowed in THE DARK KNIGHT by Lucius Fox when he tells Bruce Wayne his new Batsuit can protect him from "cats."

-- "Pslightly Psycho"

Does Lucius mention that? I do know that there was some verbal back and forth about dogs, but if this is true, good catch sir! Or ma'am!

Cher for Catwoman??? At least no one suggested Pam Anderson-that would really make people throw up.

I would prefer Jennifer Love Hewitt. Can you picture her in spandex?? Now that I would pay a lot to see in HD!

-- Walter in NJ

Walter, I like your train of thought. MEOW!

That better be an insane joke to cast Cher as Catwoman! Between her and Angelina Jolie they better go with Angelina! You've got a young talented actress or an Older plastic non-actress. Which one would fit better as Christian Bale's love interest? It's pretty obvious.

Also if they wouldn't let Jack Nicolson play the Joker again even though he wanted to I doubt the would pic Cher to be catwoman. All that talk is just to get people riled up....I guess it worked haha.

-- "Doc" in OR

Every series of sequels usually ends up with a certain point where people lose interest. In the original Batman movie series, my opinion of what dealt the damage was the casting of George Clooney as Batman. And, again, in my opinion.. the casting of Cher as Catwoman would be what destroys the new take on the Batman series.

-- Johnathan in TN

Michelle pheiffer, should return, she is older now and a much better than Cher. Dye her hair black and get a awsome tan she would be great again.

-- Jimmie in MO

Not that I'm one of the millions of guys that would like to see Angelina Jolie in a tight, leather, Cat Woman outfit and we know she definitely has the chops to act the dark and dirty part, but the character itself isn't menacing enough to be a primary villain. However, since Rachel Dawes is no longer and Cat Woman is a romantic interest of Batman's, it might create a good distraction for the hero or at the very least make a decent side story. What about Kate Beckinsale or Rhona Mitra for the part?

-- Jimmie in MO

I realize that these are only rumors but seriously, Cher is 62. She's supposed to be Cat Woman, not The Old Cat Lady.

-- Bob

It would be cool to see Angelina Jolie as catwoman, but not as a hot sexed up leather wearing catwoman (it been done) that would be to "Hollywood" . I want to see an ugly, crazy catwoman. Kind of like crazy cat lady from the Simpsons. If a director can ugly up the men they can ugly up the women.

-- Adam

I can see it now, the Crazy Cat Lady with her unkempt hair and millions of vicious cats that lap up milk like champions.

Cher?! As Catwoman?! That was not something I need to hear when eating breakfast. Honestly, she has an amazing voice, but she does not meet any of the criteria for being Catwoman other than being female.

While Angelina Jolie would be a good Catwoman, how about Kate Beckinsale? She has shown she can play an athletic part, and has that classic and sassy beauty that would fill Catwoman's tights purrfectly. (Oh c'mon, you knew that pun was coming at some point.)

-- Carlton in GA

Sorry about breakfast Carlton, but I think you got us back with the obvious zinger and congrats for being the only one to use it!

In too Depp

i think that johnny depp should be the only villain in the next film if Aaron cant come back as two/face don't make it like spiderman 3 and have too many villains depp will be all the bat can handle if he is cast as the riddler.

-- Jonathan in LA

I think Depp could pull anything off. I heard that Riddler may be portrayed as a Hacker. I kind of like that, and I'd be interested to see what people thought of Simon Pegg in the role in that capacity.

-- Jason in MN

Ooh, I like the idea of Simon Pegg in that type of turn whether it be Riddler or a different character.

I think placing Johnny Depp as the riddler would be a mistake, you don't really need another villain who is as close to the joker in the next movie. I personally feel that all attempts should be made to get Aaron Eckhart back as two face

-- Jeremy in NC

I couldn't agree more with bringing Eckhart back.

Unchartered Territory

Why are we revisiting the same bad guys already done?, bad enough all the good old horror movies are being redone poorly. Instead of redoing Catwoman and Penguin lets do some new foes, the rest of the League of Assassins (for revenge), Deadshot, Firefly, Man-Bat would be awesome. They need to stop trying to improve on characters already done and move on to new ones. Reusing characters will obviously bring out the comparison charts and thats really not fair to the original role.

-- Jason in AZ

I was hoping to see the Riddler played by Johnny Depp as I'm sure most fanboys are. That would be a homerun but I think Nolan should introduce some lesser known villains.

I would love to see any one of these three villains brought into the franchise. #1. Hugo Strange, he knows Batman's identity and longs to be him. He's also a chemical genius who can turn people into lumbering, brutal giants. #2 Cluemaster, a former game show host who turned to a life of crime and left clues at the scene of the crime. And finally #3 Deadshot is a suicidal assassin who wears a colorful costume in the hopes that someone will shoot him. He is considered the second greatest assassin in the DC Universe, the first being Deathstroke.

-- Brian in IL

Yay! I could see this article was a long time coming. The buzz is everywhere on the new villains. The one thing I would not like to see is the Penguin. Call me crazy but I think a guy who primarily uses umbrellas as weapons just can't be taken seriously.

But looking at all the possibilities... Major Villains: Bane Killer Croc Firefly Deadshot Mr. Freeze Poison Ivy Riddler Black Mask Catwoman Clayface

Of all these I could see Killer Croc, Deadshot, Black Mask, Riddler, and Clay Face

I think the villains I'd most like to appear would be Deadshot and Black Mask. Yes, they are lesser known villains to people outside the comic book scene. But I think that is what might just make them perfect. Have like Hugo Weaving play Deadshot and Jason Statham to play Black Mask. I know these are kinda out there choices(especially for Statham), but this might give Statham a chance to show a little darker side.

For Killer Croc I'd probably have Terry Crews. He's a big guy and I think he has the acting chops to come off as an angry croc-man.

Mr. Freeze-I like the idea of Ben Kingsly. Yep, he's old. But imagine him with a ton of white make-up and the red eyed goggles. Freeze was never much of a physical guy(most of the time he just uses his gun).

My choice for Catwoman is Kate Beckinsale. She has shown us twice that she can wear tight leather(and she looked great!) and she is a great actress that knows how to kick some ass. But still Catwoman has been overused...

I think Clay Face would be really easy to cast with just any cookie cutter actor to fill up space, but I think that Justin Timberlake (yes I did say that, believe me when I first thought it I wanted to kick myself) could do it. In Black Snake Moan he completely changed my view of him. He portrayed a character who has anxiety issues and did a damn good job. If he just pushed that creativity into playing an actor who gets in a car accident, thus scarring his face...etc.

The rest of the villains are simple...Johnny Depp as Riddler( Hey I'm just going with the flow. To be honest I'm a little tired of Depp). Bane...just get some a-list actor to really jack up his muscles. I mean REALLY jack. How bout Gerard Butler? Just a thought. They really would not need Poison Ivy in the next movie. At all. Firefly would also be easy to cast...maybe David Tennant (young Barty Crouch from Harry Potter 4). He's got crazy eyes like a pyromaniac.

-- Spencer

Dude, you just tossed out Justin Timberlake to be in Batman movie. That's two minutes for improper use of boy band wannabe. Hit the penalty box!

Boy Blunder?

I think Nolan should tackle the Robin storyline. The main actor from INTO THE WILD, Emile Hirsch, is my choice. Noland wouldn't be able to follow the story of the first robin all the way to his death at the Joker's hands, but the revival has not been comic-book exact, and i'm sure the screenwriters can flip it to be something special.

However, now that i'm thinking about it, the audience may not want to see this Batman take on the teacher, protective, almost fatherly role that would be needed in introducing Robin. if they did do robin, they can do clayface, as the hero team always took down clayface together.

-- "Eloy"

I think it's safe to say that Robin won't be making an appearance anytime soon in these movies. Between Chris O'Donnell and the Bat-Nipples, it's a miracle that Warner Bros. didn't burn their rights to Batman long ago.

Conspiracy Theory?

I Wrote The Whole Batman pat 3 movie!!

-- Raymond in FL

Well Raymond, if you've already written it, enlighten us as to who will be in the movie. I'm sure Warner Bros. will be contacting you shortly.

As always, you guys and gals had some great feedback and wonderful insight. A few of you may want to back off the medication or start some, but hey we always like a good laugh.

If there's anything else you'd like to add, please drop us a line or send us that screenplay to part 3.