Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises faced almost impossible expectations after its predecessor was the subject of universal critical acclaim, and there’s still a very solid argument to be made that The Dark Knight is the single greatest comic book movie ever.
However, the conclusion to Nolan’s trilogy featured some sizeable plot holes and iffy characterization, with the ultimate reveals surrounding Marion Cotillard’s Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John ‘Robin’ Blake in particular drawing plenty of criticism. Another major bone of contention was Tom Hardy’s Bane, although that had nothing to do with the actor’s typically committed performance, but rather the sound mix often making it close to impossible to try and understand what the hell he was saying.
The DCEU might be embracing the multiverse in The Flash meaning that literally anything is possible, but there’s probably some kind of unspoken agreement that keeps the Dark Knight Trilogy off limits, given its standing in the genre. However, insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that Warner Bros. want Hardy to reprise the role as the muffled man mountain in the Scarlet Speedster’s solo debut.
Of course, this makes him just the latest in a long line of former DC villains that the tipster has linked to the project, as he’s also named Jim Carrey’s Riddler, Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze, and if it wasn’t for Jack Nicholson essentially retiring from acting a decade ago, he’d have probably found himself in the conversation at least once, too.
There’s not even been any confirmation from the studio yet that any legacy villains are set to appear in The Flash, with Michael Keaton’s Batman the only alternate version of any character that’s been announced so far, while the recent addition of Sasha Calle’s Supergirl makes it clear that the Scarlet Speedster’s solo debut is focusing on much more than nostalgia when it comes to building out the ensemble.
