10 Villains We Want To See In The DC Extended Universe (And Who Should Play Them)

The future of the DC Extended Universe is in a state of flux at the moment, but one thing that does look set to happen in an upcoming movie is the formation of the Legion of Doom (or Injustice League) - a band of supervillains to face off against the might of the League. After all, JL's post-credits scene, featuring Lex Luthor recruiting Deathstroke, caused such excitement from fans that DC would be wise to double down on its promise. But what other villains could feature as part of Luthor's Legion? Well, a few that have already been cast would likely join - such as Jared Leto's Joker, Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta - but what about the rest? Obviously, there are plenty more incredible antagonists littering the pages of DC comics that we would love to see realized on the big screen. The key to their success, though, is to get the perfect actor or actress to play them. And so, to give the brass at Warner Bros. a helping hand, we've compiled a list of 10 DC supervillains we want to see in upcoming films and listed who we think should play them. As always, if you've got any of your own picks that we might've missed, feel free to add them in via the comments section down below. Luke Evans - Sinestro As Green Lantern fans will tell you, Sinestro is the most iconic enemy of the Emerald Knights. Though once a Lantern himself, he was kicked out of the Corps due to his thirst for power, which led him to seek out the yellow power of fear. He's a natural for the upcoming Green Lantern Corps, then, or as part of Luthor's Legion of Doom. Of course, the purple-faced antagonist previously appeared on screen in 2011's Green Lantern, as played by Mark Strong. Admittedly, his casting was actually one of the few good things about the aforementioned Ryan Reynolds-starring flop, so our first choice would have been for the actor to have reprised his role. However, Strong is already set to play another villain in the DCEU: Shazam!'s Dr. Sivana. With him out of the running then, our next choice is Luke Evans. He's shown his range in a few projects recently and it's easy to imagine him looking the part with a bit of facial hair and make-up. Case in point: the above piece of art from BossLogic. Dane DeHaan - Riddler Despite being one of the Dark Knight's most famous foes, we haven't had a cinematic version of the Riddler since 1995's Batman Forever, where he was campily played by Jim Carrey. While Carrey's performance worked for that movie, a modern interpretation could bring out the darker side of Edward Nygma: an unhinged genius compelled to play a battle of the wits with the Caped Crusader. An easter egg has already confirmed his existence in the DCEU, too, so let's hope he shows up in some form in The Batman. There are a number of actors we could imagine doing a good job of filling Eddie's green question-marked suit, but our top pick is Dane DeHaan. Sure, the last time he played a supervillain things didn't go too well - see his laughably poor Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - but if you look back to his turn in Chronicle you can see how well he could portray the Riddler as a disturbing, dangerous individual. Karen Gillan - Poison Ivy Poison Ivy is another major Batman foe in need of another big screen adaptation, in order for us to finally forget about Uma Thurman's OTT portrayal in 1997's Batman & Robin. The most likely place the plant-loving temptress will turn up is in David Ayer's Gotham City Sirens, which will see Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn team up with Catwoman and Ivy, her BFF from the comics. Alternatively, if that falls through, there's always Suicide Squad 2 or any of those other Harley-centric projects. Ivy is one of the most hotly-contested roles on this list, as every DC fan seems to have their own pick for who should play Dr. Pamela Isley. One name we would like to throw in the hat, though, is Karen Gillan. The actress definitely has the looks to pull off the part and she's proven in Guardians of the Galaxy that she can portray a fun, effective villain. She's also a similar age to Robbie, which would could help build up their chemistry. The only issue is her busy schedule with Marvel, but it's possible Gillan's character Nebula will be killed off in Avengers 4, thus giving her time to join another franchise. Toby Jones - Penguin The Penguin probably isn't complex enough to carry a modern Batman movie as the main antagonist, but the character is too iconic to be left out of the DCEU completely. With that in mind, he could easily turn up in a cameo or supporting role in The Batman, perhaps as the crooked owner of the Iceberg Lounge that Bats has to intimidate for info on the city's underworld. There's evidence to suggest that the Penguin has been causing mischief in Gotham for much of Batman's crime-fighting career as well, so an older actor would have to be cast for the role. The star who most fits the bill, then, is Toby Jones, who has proven himself a natural at portraying despicable characters on numerous occasions (Captain America, Sherlock, The Girl). He's a frequent supporting player in Hollywood productions, too, so he's well-suited for a walk-on part as the Penguin. Not to mention his diminutive stature means he would look like the character. Really, all he would need is a monocle and prosthetic pointed nose to bring Oswald Cobblepot to life. Jude Law - Brainiac When it comes to picking the perfect villain for Man of Steel 2, there's one name that really springs to mind: Brainiac, the knowledge-hoarding android who has been one of Superman's biggest adversaries for decades. Despite his longevity, Brainiac has yet to appear on the big screen, though we've seen the character on TV in the likes of Smallville and the upcoming Krypton. Hopefully, the DCEU can rectify this as soon as possible. Though it would really take the right kind of actor to breathe life into the robotic antagonist - and to look good under the green facepaint. You'd need a bankable star to go toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill's hero and our choice for that would be Jude Law. As we all know, Brits make the best villains and Law plays that kind of icy, calculating evil that would be perfect for Brainiac very well. The character isn't a quip-machine like Marvel's Ultron and needs to appear emotionless but possess a large ego and relentless determination. Law was also once offered the part of Superman way back when, so it would be fun for him to return to the franchise as a villain instead. Catwoman - Lena Headey Like her love interest Batman, Catwoman has been depicted a hell of a lot more times than most DC characters on the big screen. Nevertheless, she's such a popular figure that it would hardly be the DC universe without her. So, it's no surprise that she's expected to appear in the next few years, probably via either Gotham City Sirens or The Batman. As such, it seems that every actress under the sun has been linked with the part of Selina Kyle. But who would be our pick? Well, though there are many fan favourite choices, such as Rebecca Ferguson, Emily Blunt or Olivia Wilde, they strike us as a little too "safe." Sure, they would be great, but there's one actress we don't think is being talked about half as much as she should be: Game of Thrones' Lena Headey. Apart from being a ridiculously close visual match to the modern portrayal of Selina Kyle, Headey has the sass, grit and all-round acting chops to pull off the role of the only woman to run rings around Batman. Make it happen, DC! Liam Neeson - Darkseid Darkseid is the biggest, meanest villain in the DC universe, so it's a given that, if the DCEU continues to grow, it will tackle him eventually. Initially, the plan was for the ruler of Apokolips to feature in Justice League 2, which we guess could still happen. After all, after the character was namedropped in the first film, it would be a shame if the promise of Darkseid was never delivered on. Even if we've had enough of alien invasions in the franchise for the time being. Much like Steppenwolf before him, Darkseid is surely going to be an entirely CGI creation. So what the actor who plays the character really needs is a memorable voice - someone who could ooze gravitas by just reading the phone book. Our pick, then, would be Liam Neeson, who has history playing DC villains after portraying Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins. Plus, Irish actor - and Neeson's good friend - Ciaran Hinds previously played Steppenwolf in Justice League. So maybe all the New Gods have Irish accents? Dan Stevens - Reverse Flash Initially planned as a plain old solo movie, Ezra Miller's Scarlet Speedster will instead get his own vehicle in Flashpoint, an adaptation of the universe-shattering storyline from the comics. Though fans are getting caught up with the idea of Jeffery Dean Morgan as alt-Batman, let's not forget that Reverse-Flash will likely play a key role as Barry Allen's nemesis. But who could bring the character to life - and measure up to TV's Tom Cavanagh - in the movie? People often name Matthew McConaughey as their top choice to play Eobard Thawne in Flashpoint but, while he would no doubt be awesome in the role, we just can't see him signing up for the part. Instead, we're going to go with Dan Stevens, inspired by a mock-poster created by BossLogic that shows that the British actor would be a perfect fit for the part. Stevens' star is definitely on the rise, as he appeared in Disney's smash-hit Beauty and the Beast as one of the title roles (guess which one) last year. With that in mind, joining a superhero movie franchise sounds like a good next career move for him. Javier Bardem - Vandal Savage Vandal Savage might not have any combat-enhancing superpowers to speak of, but he is one of the most dangerous villains in the DC universe due to his incredibly long life giving him a superior intellect and a lot of power. We're not sure exactly where he could fit in as part of the known slate of DCEU movies, but he could join Luthor's Legion of Doom whenever that materializes. At the very least, we need another version to wash the taste of the unfortunately boring portrayal of Savage in Legends of Tomorrow. As for who could play him, we'd like to see Javier Bardem embody the immortal antagonist. OK, it's probably true that the actor has slept through his last few villainous performances - see his turn as Captain Salazar in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - but hey, it was always going to be tough to match his Oscar-winning breakout role as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. Even if he isn't at the top of his game at the moment, Bardem still has the necessary menace and knack for theatricality that befits a character called Vandal Savage. Charlize Theron - Cheetah Unlike Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman doesn't have too many iconic enemies. But now that Ares has been ticked off in the previous movie, the most obvious foe for Diana to face in the upcoming Wonder Woman 2 is Cheetah, a former thief cursed to become a cat-lady. Cheetah would also be a natural pick to be a member of the Legion of Doom, meaning she could become a recurring presence in the DCEU. So, the character really needs a talented actress to make a big impression. Thankfully, we have someone in mind: Charlize Theron. She's reliably amazing in everything she does and would definitely offer up a match for Gal Gadot's Amazon princess. The best part of this casting is that it could genuinely happen. Theron goes back a long way with director Patty Jenkins and was even offered a part in Wonder Woman, which she had to pass up due to scheduling conflicts. Hopefully, Jenkins can talk her into appearing in the sequel instead.

10 Villains We Want To See In The DC Extended Universe (And Who Should Play Them)

Toby Jones – Penguin