Which Villains Will Appear in Matt Reeves The Batman?

Now that we know Robert Pattinson is the next Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves The Batman, the focus can turn towards the villains. There has been quite a lot of speculation on the old internet (you don’t say?) about which of the many iconic Batman villains might appear. One of the things that have always made Batman such a great superhero, both in the comics and on the big screen, is Gotham is such a rich source of weirdo villains. So rich, in fact, that one of them is getting his own film.

We know Matt Reeves’ The Batman is not an origin story, which means, among other things, there is a good chance Bruce Wayne will already know about, and possibly have interacted with, whichever villain(s) appear. Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter there will be a rogue’s gallery in his film, so we can assume we’ll be seeing some familiar faces and potentially some new ones.

There are rumors floating that the familiar faces may include Catwoman, which would mark the third appearance for one of the best Batman characters out there. Catwoman could be considered more antihero than a full-blown villain, but she definitely breaks bad in most iterations. The character was last played by Anne Hathway in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (2102), and before that, by Michelle Pfieffer in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992). Any opportunity to get Catwoman on the screen is one worth taking.

The second, and the most obvious, possible villain is the most iconic of all—the Joker. As mentioned up top, Warner Bros. already has the Clown Prince of Chaos starring in his own film. Joaquin Phoenix stars in Joker, which is set to drop this October 4. Before Phoenix, the Joker was played by Jared Leto in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad (2016), and, of course, by the late, great Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

There’s scuttlebutt out there that the Penguin will appear in The Batman, possibly played by Reeves’ very talented buddy Josh Gad. The last time we saw the Penguin on the big screen, it was none other than Danny Devito in the role. He starred alongside Pfieffer in Batman Returns. Two other potential villains being mentioned who both appeared in a past Batman films are Riddler, last played by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever (1995), and Two-Face, played by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever and Aaron Eckhardt in The Dark Knight.

After these folks, there are a few intriguing baddies that we haven’t seen on the big screen. One is Firefly, an arsonist obsessed with—wait for it— fire,  and Mad Hatter, a scientist who deploys technology to control peoples’ minds.

It’ll be a while before we learn anything definitive about The Batman‘s bad guys and girls. Once more folks are officially cast, we’ll be able to make some more reasonable guests, if not outright report, who Pattinson’s Batman will be facing.

Featured image: Robert Pattinson in ‘High Life.’ Courtesy A24/Photo: Martin Valentin Menke