Thursday
04Sep2008
Guy Pearce as a Batman Villain? Count Me In
Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 8:24AM
About six weeks ago, we asked the obvious question of
the moment: "Where should Batman go after
The Dark Knight?" Specifically, we wondered
who the next villain(s) should be. I felt that Two-Face
had first right of refusal, but
Aaron Eckhart has said
that won't be happening.
I then said that
Christopher Nolan should keep it simple, with
one villain, or two at the most (with the second not being a supervillain). My
choices are Black Mask - kind of an anti-Bruce Wayne in a lot of ways - and
Harley Quinn. The Harley angle makes sense since you want to keep the Joker
involved although he clearly can't be in the next movie, and Black Mask is just
a perfect fit for the types of movies Nolan is doing. He was actually an
original villain in The Dark Knight, back before they decided to go with
The Joker.
Anyway, those were my choices. We got literally hundreds
of suggestions. Somewhere in the middle of all that, a reader suggested, amidst
all the talk of
Angelina as Catwoman and
Johnny Depp as The Riddler, that
Guy Pearce should play the next villain. And
since that recommendation, I really haven't heard a better choice, not even Depp.
Johnny has become almost too mainstream, and despite how
great he is, I dunno...it just feels like that pick is going overboard at this
point. The same goes for Angelina as Catwoman. Of course, I'm far from convinced
that those characters will be in the third movie.
But MTV, perhaps realizing that Guy Pearce and
Christopher Nolan share some history (a little movie called Memento),
asked the actor about playing The Riddler.
"I'd love to work with Chris again," he said. "There hasn't been any
discussion, we'll have to wait and see. I have a lot of reluctance [to playing a superhero or villain], but doing it with someone
like Chris Nolan would certainly make it appealing."
That's the answer I'd expect from Pearce, who would be a
better Black Mask than a Riddler, in case you were wondering. I think Pearce has
more than earned this kind of shot, and I believe he'd absolutely kill it.
And while I have to commend MTV for prying Pearce open
for that one, I have to shake my head at their absolute inaccuracy as it relates
to the third film.
"Fans have unanimously agreed that The Riddler would be the perfect character to work into The Dark Knight sequel. Depp has already admitted that he would love the chance to step into the role, but now that Pearce has thrown his name into the hat, it should make for a very interesting new film."Uh...what? Fans have unanimously agreed? Every single one of them wants The Riddler? That's odd. We got far less homogeneity here. Certainly, it wasn't "unanimous." Also, Depp never admitted he wanted to play the part. Here's what he said over the weekend: "It seems like it'd be a fun gig for a while, yeah." Not exactly begging for the part, is he? Finally, did MTV bother to read their own story? Pearce didn't throw his hat into the ring. He was asked about being a Batman villain and if anything, sounded reluctant, perhaps because he used the phrase, "I have a lot of reluctance." So let's recalibrate the Batvillain Finder: The only people who have said they'd "love" to be in the third movie are Brian Austin Green and Milo Ventimiglia. Johnny Depp hasn't been asked, and neither has Angelina. Hell, Christopher Nolan hasn't even signed up for the film yet! This casting session is far from over.
Reader Comments (20)
Mr. Nolan will sign on when he is ready, and if were lucky we will have some idea of the script by Christmas.
I have a problem with fans insisting that The Riddler and Catwoman HAVE to be in the sequel. Remember when Vemon HAD to be in Spider-Man 3? I feel like Joker and Two-Face were expections, and I'm all for a villian that hasn't been used yet (must Depp and Jolie be suggested for everything? It's getting tiresome).
But since we are speculating, I have hoped Guy Pearce would find his way into the films since Nolan was first announced director. And I have to second Black Mask--not only would he fit in well with Nolan's world, but he is one nasty son-of-a-bitch.
One more vote for Guy Pearce.
No Riddler please ! A Riddler would just be like a miniature Joker. Why can't some guys just admit it? No Mad Hatter. No penguin. They are far fetched. No love interest for Batman. So perhaps maybe Selina Kyle could be but neither Catwoman nor Talia Al-Ghul PLEASE. Although everybody fully trusts Nolan to handle any character and make justice to it, I still think if any can fit block-to-block in the Nolan's universe and give Batman the competition, it HAS to be BLACK MASK and no one else. He is bad and interesting enough in the comics and far menacing and real serious and no jokes. Guy Pearce or whoever plays it, Nolan will surely manage it and Nolan will be the first guy to destroy the Superhero-Part-3-Failure-Syndrome. But there's a catch: Nolan has to sign up for the third installation first. And, yes... Could a secondary but not a main villian like Bane be possible just to break Batman's back?
I'm pretty sure Nolan won't cave to anonymous unanimous clatter. I'd let him go whatever direction he wants to go and just enjoy the ride. Guy Pearce? Aweomse. He is a truly skilled actor. If I had a say he'd definately be one of my first picks...right after Michael Emerson...
Sarah Palin IS Harley Quinn in...
wouldn't it be nice if the Bats franchise invented a new villain? The Shoemacher movies proved that once you dip into the secondary tier, you're on the fast track to camp city. I don't want to see The Penguin, Mr Freeze, The Riddler or any of the rest of them. Anyway, with the death of Maggie, the series is set up for a new, strong, female presence in the series--if not Catwoman (more camp), someone more interesting
Philip Seymour Hoffman I believe would make an excellent penguin.
the next villains for me are black mask and calender man.
Guy Pearce would be a great addition to the next Batman moive directed by Nolan.
I think the best villain would be Anarky. Check Wikipedia if you don't know who he is. The only catch is I can't think of anyone able to play him.
How about Bane? Fits in well with the whole "dark" setting, and one of the motifs underlying the film is "Bat man get hurt doing good"...
I'm all for Bane, the -real- Bane, not the mindless hulk he got turned into in that awful movie. However, in thinking about Bane, another thought immediately came up on its heels.
With the dark take Nolan's been doing on these movies, what about the full on Bane/Azrael combo? I know there's always the worry of overburdening a movie with too many backstories, but picture what it could be like if we started off with Bane coming up into things, the Bat starts hunting him, only to run up against Azrael doing his own thing, and start that tense relationship between the two of them, with Batman trying to bring the assassin around to his own moral code and the two working together as they're trying to stop the twisted, brilliant monster taking over Gotham's underworld, and then, say an hour and a half into the movie, BAM! The Bat gets his back broken and we're left with the twisted, split-personality Batman beating the everloving hell out of Bane and bringing a whole new kind of terror to the streets, and we close out with Bruce Wayne meeting a beautiful black woman who his contacts have informed him has shown remarkable success in treating patients with terrible injuries.
Just a thought, just a thought...
Guy gets my vote too.
Rachel McAdams for Catwoman! You know it makes sense
C'mon, go for the real bad guy... Anybody remember the whole Batman vs Dracula storyline? Or, since the new imagining of Batman may be close to running its course, why not got out with a script based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, "The Dark Knight Returns". Miller is hot and it would be a great way for the franchise to go out on top (unless, of course, all the studio is concerned about would be box office cash as generated by star heavy, plot light sequals...)
How About Sir Richard Kingsley as Mr. Freeze?
I mean Sir Ben Kingsley. Maybe I should have used the preview button.
Has anyone thought about one of the Clayfaces? Let's pull away from the traditional villians here a bit. BTW Selena Kyle is black (I don't think Jolie could pull that one off).
if any villians should be in the new movie its has to be no other then harley quinn and if shes in it posion ivy has to go with her and my actress seggustion for a harley quinn would be ellen page she played a brilliant phsyco in Hard Candy. as for black mask i dont think the series is quit ready for that much insanity and destruction though thats me
Eric Carlson and Joan Wagar, A,K,A, Doubleclick and Mrs Dash,( yes those are there nicknames they gave each other.) admitted to poisoning me while I was a plasma donor back in 2005.
Eric Carlson pedofied me behind prison walls and then framed me as a pedophile on march 26th 2007, I caught the crime on a audio recorder I put in Joan's purse.
there were people in authority helping them with this and nobody in authority will help they pretend nothing happened and refuse to investigate this.
Eric Carlson changed his hair color and his name but this is not hidden, only ignored by the authority's and media
I'm disabled from being poisoned and the hospitals refuse to admit I'm poisoned.
My Family is in danger from these people and I have no other recorse but to make these charges public.
My name is Terry Wagar,Im from Portland Oregon and I'm backing up these charges.
I have been threatened with harassment charges by a Sargent Walker, She is a portland police officer stationed at the OHSU hospital, for the non crime of reporting a multi murder conspiracy within that hospital.
They dont give a s4!t Joan and Eric was poisoning a plasma donor!
And how many god damn john ray's in authority are there in portland oregon!
You damn serial killer.