Nolan 'verse Batman baddies we'll never see.

[Trekker4747]

Batman has a fairly large rogues gallery, for sure, and along with that a pretty wide variety of criminals he faces off with their own flairs for the dramatic.

Now, the Nolan Batman movies tried to take as "realistic" approach as it could with the bad guys while at the same time bending realism as much as it could to make the bad guys work with the tone of the film.

In the three Batman movies (SPOILERS) Nolan has done, or has coming, we've gotten Carmine Falcone, Scarecrow, Ra's al Ghul, The Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman and Bane among others. How Bane's being handled I'm not sure on yet but he can fit into a real setting easily enough as professional wrestler/UFC fighter hooked on a form of steroid. (Basically what Bane is anyway.)

The biggest stretch came with Two-Face in that the severe burns Harvey suffered from didn't cause him to succumb to sepsis or die from extreme pain pretty quickly. (And let us assume Harvery Dent could still be alive and in Arkham in the Nolan verse and able to live with his injuries.)

So what other villains in Batman's gallery could make the transition to the Nolan 'verse movies if more were to be done beyond a third one? How would the more natural and "realistic" tone of the movies make some of the more fantastic characters work? Who could play them? Could Mr. Freeze be done and still keep the realistic tone of the movies?

I think The Penguin could've worked the best and have undone the bullshit caused by the butchering Tim Burton did. The Penguin could've been portrayed as nothing more than a old-timely dapper, odd-looking, mob boss. I think it's been suggested in the past the Phillip Seymour Hoffman would've worked well as The Penguin, I could see him doing something along the lines of his Capote role he played in the past.

I think Poison Ivy would have worked very well, as an eco-terrorist though she'd probably need to be paired with someone else to best work unless a big enough plot could be made around just her. Best to play her? For me I'm not sure, the first woman with an "exotic enough" beauty that comes to mind is Olivia Wilde and I'm sure she'd look good with red hair.

The Riddler would work pretty well as a demented serial killer teasing Batman with clues and in itself could "undo" what Carry brought to the role in BF.

So who else is there and how could they be pulled off in the Nolan movies?

 

[davejames]

I've grown to really love Burton's Penguin over the years, but I agree the mob boss idea seems like it would be cool.

The Riddler is the one I'm most sad that we won't be seeing though. He was always my favorite as a kid, and it would have been awesome to see Bale's Batman have to unravel a bunch of his crazy, convoluted riddles.

 

[Trekker4747]

To each his own, but I don't see how Burton's Penguin could appeal to anyone at all. The Penguin wasn't a deformed freak who lived in a sewer with, well, penguins. He was just an odd-looking, over-dressed, mob boss.

Give me Burgess Meredith over Danny Devito any day.

 

[Jetfire]

I know before TDKR began there was a rumor about Jared Leto lobbying to be the Riddler...I actually think Brian Warner AKA Marilyn Manson would be good...like The Batman animated show Riddler.

 

[Trekker4747]

Marilyn Manson in anything: No thanks.

I struggle to think who would make a good Riddler. It's probably be one of those characters where, like Heath Ledger, it'd probably have to be the last actor you'd think of.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Even an "Oswald Cobblepot" cameo as a well-dressed Mafia boss would be fine in my mind. Just indicate he took over for Sal Maroni. Batman can use him for information at some point. Otherwise, you can always have two mob underlings do a little shoulder nudge and sarcastically call him a Penguin for a cheap laugh.

 

[Greg Cox]

To each his own, but I don't see how Burton's Penguin could appeal to anyone at all. The Penguin wasn't a deformed freak who lived in a sewer with, well, penguins. He was just an odd-looking, over-dressed, mob boss.

Give me Burgess Meredith over Danny Devito any day.

The plot of Batman Returns is a mess, but I always liked that creepy, Caligari-esque reinterpretation of the Penguin. It's not the same as the comic book version, but I thought it worked perfectly in the context of Burton's spooky Gothic take on Gotham City.

And let's be honest: the mob boss business is also a new, modern reinvention of the Penguin. Back in the Golden and Silver Ages, he was mostly a funny little man with trick umbrellas and a predeliction for stealing jewel-encrusted bird statues . . . .

I can see why Burton would want to make him scarier.

 

[Jetfire]

James Franco could pull of The Riddler in the Nolanverse.

 

[Anwar]

David Tennant for the Riddler.

Heck, why not use the Golden Age version of Clayface. He was an evil version of Lon Chaney Jr IIRC, a master actor and master of disguise instead of a real shapeshifter.

 

[Greg Cox]

David Tennant for the Riddler.

Heck, why not use the Golden Age version of Clayface. He was an evil version of Lon Chaney Jr IIRC, a master actor and master of disguise instead of a real shapeshifter.

Okay, the old monster movie buff in me has to point out that you mean Lon Chaney Sr., not Jr. The father was "The Man of a Thousand Faces," not his son, who had his makeup done by Jack Pierce.

But, yeah, "Basil Karlo" would be one way to go.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Hush
Firefly
Deadshot
Black Mask
Hugo Strange
Red Hood
Onomatopeia

 

[The Dominion]

David Tennant for the Riddler.

Heck, why not use the Golden Age version of Clayface. He was an evil version of Lon Chaney Jr IIRC, a master actor and master of disguise instead of a real shapeshifter.

Okay, the old monster movie buff in me has to point out that you mean Lon Chaney Sr., not Jr. The father was "The Man of a Thousand Faces," not his son, who had his makeup done by Jack Pierce.

Was going to post that.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I've read in this very forum suggestions of David Hyde Pierce or David Tennant for Riddler. I've seen really well done fan posters with Guy Pearce as Riddler. Either one of these actors works for me in the role.

Mr. Freeze is someone I really wanted to see in the Nolan movies. I think Patrick Stewart would be perfect, and yes I know he was the original choice for the character in "Batman and Robin" before Arnold signed on. I still think he would make a great Victor.

Robin Williams for Hugo Strange (this was heavily rumoured as recent as this past summer) .

Christina Hendricks as Poison Ivy. (No brainer in my opinion)

Joseph Gordon Levitt would have been a great Black Mask (either version of the character) but I'm still glad he is in the movie as Officer John Blake.

 

[The Dominion]

I would love to hear Stewart's version of "Freeze in hell, Batman!"

 

[the G-man]

Michael Emerson for the Riddler.

 

[RoJoHen]

Michael Emerson for the Riddler.

Michael Emerson for anything. He's awesome.

 

[Greg Cox]

Michael Emerson for the Riddler.

Forget the Riddler. I want to see him play Professor Moriarity someday.

 

[davejames]

The plot of Batman Returns is a mess, but I always liked that creepy, Caligari-esque reinterpretation of the Penguin. It's not the same as the comic book version, but I thought it worked perfectly in the context of Burton's spooky Gothic take on Gotham City.

Agreed. The Burton Penguin to me was FAR more interesting than the comic version. He was this sad, tragic figure who was also hilariously vile and twisted.

The only problem was Pfeiffer's Catwoman was the one we really wanted to spend time with in that movie. Next to her, he just came across as an annoying distraction.

 

[Greg Cox]

The plot of Batman Returns is a mess, but I always liked that creepy, Caligari-esque reinterpretation of the Penguin. It's not the same as the comic book version, but I thought it worked perfectly in the context of Burton's spooky Gothic take on Gotham City.

Agreed. The Burton Penguin to me was FAR more interesting than the comic version. He was this sad, tragic figure who was also hilariously vile and twisted.

The only problem was Pfeiffer's Catwoman was the one we really wanted to spend time with in that movie. Next to her, he just came across as an annoying distraction.

And then you had Christopher Walken as yet another major villain. Like I said, the plot feels like twelve different script treatments put through a blender.

Love the look and atmosphere of the movie, though.

 

[Agent Richard07]

So what other villains in Batman's gallery could make the transition to the Nolan 'verse movies if more were to be done beyond a third one?

I've always maintained a firm belief that anyone can work. Even Bat-Mite could work. Just make him a little guy from the circus who's obsessed with Batman, and hire the guy who played Mini Me. You could even make him think he's from another dimension and give him an arsenal of clever parlor tricks and enough charm and charisma to make the audience consider the possibility no matter how outrageous it sounds.

Even an "Oswald Cobblepot" cameo as a well-dressed Mafia boss would be fine in my mind. Just indicate he took over for Sal Maroni. Batman can use him for information at some point. Otherwise, you can always have two mob underlings do a little shoulder nudge and sarcastically call him a Penguin for a cheap laugh.

I've thought that Mr. Freeze could be handled the same way... Via cameo. It would have been nice to see Batman taking down a guy with an altered hazmat suit and a homemade nitrogen/freezing gun. The whole scene could be about 5 minutes or so, but it would be a nice way to include Mr. Freeze. In fact, Mr. Freeze could really use a more realistic setting. His freezing weapon is deadly and that fact wasn't captured in the cartoonish Batman & Robin. Imagine the police and inocent bystanders losing limbs and whatnot. And imagine Batman facing this kind of danger himself.

As for The Penguin, my preference is Paul Giamatti.