Following The Dark Knight's success, what villain now?

It’s been a little over a month since The Dark Knight hit theaters. We’ve gone through record breaking sales, fanboy freakouts, and, of course, the obligatory backlash. So it only makes sense that the Batman sequel speculation has already begun. The Hollywood Reporter leaked recently that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are ready to greenlight a third Batman film, which isn’t too surprising considering that the film has made—and these are exact numbers, people—eleventy billion dollars.

The studios, however, are waiting on writer/director Christopher Nolan to come up with a “story and a plan” for the next film. But don’t expect to hear anything official any time soon. Nolan is currently on vacation, which we’re going to assume involves the director laying on a private beach made out of actual money. However, if you want a round-up of wild speculation, why, we’re more than happy to oblige...

There have been rumors going around that Hollywood’s A-Listers are all lining up to get in on Dark Knight sequel action. The early word is that studio execs are looking to cast Johnny Depp as The Riddler. Via The Telegraph:

 

"‘Producers are convinced that the role of The Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny's a pro. He'll be able to take direction and still make the character his own. And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman?’ a source said.

 

They could be joining Angelina Jolie - the actress is reported to be after the role of Catwoman.”

Before you get all hot-and-bothered about the thought of Jolie in black leather, it’s important to note that The Telegraph also reported earlier that studio execs were looking to none other than Cher to play next Catwoman. Then again, The Telegraph could just be playing free association with famous people's names and Batman characters. 

Another early favorite villain for the next Batman film is none other than Two Face. Now, we know what you’re thinking, “Hey Paste, didn’t Two Face die at the end of The Dark Knight? How could he be the villain if he’s dead?” Well, it’s complicated. Technically, the audience never sees a deceased Harvey Dent. Sure, he was pushed off the edge of a building, but if Batman can survive a fall like that, then why can't Dent? However, it's hard to argue with the stage directions in the newly released Dark Knight script:

 

"Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. DEAD."

 

Now if you want to be truly nitpicky, it could be argued that, yes, Harvey Dent died at the end of Dark Knight, because he was consumed by Two Face. But of course that totally ignores the whole "neck broken" thing.

So if it’s not Two Face, then who’s going to be the next Batman villain? While you’re more than free to speculate in the comments, this Paste writer is pushing for Bane. Sure, he’s a newer Batman villain, but he suffers from drug dependency and was tortured on a tropical island—<sarcasm> two themes that have absolutely no relevance whatsoever to our current times </sarcasm>. Also, reviving Bane in a decent Batman film might actually do the character some justice after he was absolutely butchered in Batman and Robin. But then again, what wasn’t butchered in that movie? Zing.

 

Related links:
Review: The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight on WarnerBros.com
YouTube: The Dark Knight theatrical trailer

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