When any movie featuring The Batman begins production, one of the first questions on peoples’ minds is which villain – or villains – will be included. After all, the public has been fascinated by the evildoers populating Gotham City ever since the TV series starring Adam West first aired during the 1960’s. And in the time since, a variety of filmmakers have put their own stamp on a variety of baddies.
In recent memory, the Penguin has been the most often rumored and reported character to serve as the chief antagonist, forcing me to believe that’ll actually pan out. Still, it’s entirely possible for director Matt Reeves to further mine such a rich 80-year history of publication enjoyed by the Caped Crusader. In fact, there’s been subsequent chatter alleging Oswald Cobblepot won’t arrive alone to the party.
Giving us all a sense of validation is Reeves himself, who revealed the following while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter:
“There will be a Rogues Gallery [of villains]. The casting process will begin shortly. We’re starting to put together our battle plan. I’m doing another pass on the script and we’ll begin some long-lead stuff to start developing conceptual things.”
Seeing as how the Penguin isn’t portrayed as being a physical threat to Batman in most cases, it’s probably safe to assume that other, more capable villains will face our hero in hand to hand combat. I’ll continue crossing my fingers for Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke, though it remains unclear if he’s even a part of Reeves’ vision.
Understandably, some of you may be concerned about too many villains being in the mix, which is a valid concern for anyone who’s seen Spider-Man 3 or The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But if you were to ask me, it all boils down to who’s writing the screenplay and if they’re able to achieve the right balance. In my view, The Dark Knight Trilogy cracked the formula, so it’s not impossible for this project to do likewise.
Right now, The Batman lacks a concrete release date, but Reeves says, “the movie would probably be for 2021, late spring or summer.”