More Batman rumors

Seriously. The movie just came out on dvd.

It's going back into theatres in January.

Stop thinking about the next one already.

The new rumor is that Rachel Weisz is coming on board to play Catwoman. Yeah, that sounds good and all but this is following the rumor that Cher was going to play Catwoman, and before that one was the report that Phillip Seymore Hoffman was going to be playing the Penguin with Johnny Depp playing the Riddler.

Nevermind the fact that both writer David S. Goyer and co-writer/director Christopher Nolan have both come out saying they haven't gotten remotely close to starting work on a sequel yet. People have heard rumblings.

No they haven't, it's all speculation. And thats how it's going to be until the unnamed sequel (yes people are already saying who is going to be cast as a villain in an unwritten and unnamed sequel) is officially cast and announced. So in lieu of "casting" actors, who could possibly be the antagonist for the film?

Bane - The superstrong drug fueled behemoth has already appeared in the original Bat-franchise as more of a lackey than anything. Which unfortunately is the only way to have Bane appear unless doing a Knightfall type story where he can really be front and center. But the thing is what made Knightfall a successful comic event was the fact that it focused on Nightwing, Robin and Azrael as the new Batman, something that wouldn't work in the film.

Black Mask - The mob boss Roman Sionis could work as a lesser villain. He'd bridge the gap from the first films Falcone-type mobster to the dark "supervillain" turn Gotham takes as it's criminals need to adapt to Batman's presence.

Catwoman - Ahh, here we are. Could her third bigscreen appearance be the one? Nolan seems to be handling the franchise with the utmost respect, so why not give Catwoman another chance? This time without the scenery-chewing Michelle Pffeifer or franchise crashing Halle Berry. Well Nolan may shy away from it because possibly the Catwoman film is still a little to fresh in peoples minds.

That's not to say Catwoman may not be in the cards though. Consider: Rachel Dawes appears in Batman Begins as a love interest for Bruce Wayne. Then actress Katie Holmes drops out of the sequel in which she was supposed to reprise her role. Nolan recasts the role with Maggie Gyllenhaal filling it (there are way too many 'L's' in that last sentence).

No big deal right? Except for the fact that Rachel Dawes is the only character created for the movie, and the character of Rachel wasn't really necessary in the sequel. In the first film she did humanize Bruce Wayne/Batman, but in Dark Knight she was more the apex of the Bruce Wayne/Harvey Dent love triangle, a role that could have been filled by anybody really.

In the comics Bruce is known for his "girl of the week", proving Rachel almost unneccesary especially since now she's "dead". Tied in with the fact that the previous Catwomen "died" in their movies only to be reborn into the Catwoman role. So could Dawes have been bred for this purpose? It's possible.

Clayface - While the shapeshifting brown glob of a villain may not work so well in Nolan's "Real Universe" setting, the original of a normal actor turned serial killer would work. But again, he'd be a lesser villain, since honestly could a non-shapeshifting Clayface fill theatre seats?

Firefly - While the burning of Gotham would be good visually, it would harken back too much to Batman Begins with the Ra's Al Ghul plot. Firefly is definitely too far down the villains roster to prove too big of a threat to Batman, even if teamed up with Killer Moth. He might make for a good opener though, someone Batman beat's before things really go down.

The Joker - Sure they just made a flick starring him, I mean co-starring him, but there's a reason the Joker has been around just as long as the Batman. Goyer and Nolan could easily whip up another storyline featuring the perennial Bat-villain, but who would honestly sign on to play that role after Heath Ledger? Nevermind the fact that there are dozens of other Rogues in the pool to pick from.

Killer Croc - If they stay away from the mutation aspect and have Croc as a deformed strongman, maybe but again as with most Bat-villains he's just not a big enough threat to have on his own and fill 120 minutes of plot.

Killer Moth - The original could work as the anti-Batman who helped criminals escape, but on his own? Meh, again even with Firefly just no.

Mad Hatter - A fan favorite of sorts, but how do you work mind controlling hats into the plot without jumping the shark? I don't know if you can really.

Man-Bat - Could be awesome visually, but maybe too sci-fi and horror based for the "real world".

Mr. Freeze - Honestly? He would probably work. If Goyer and Nolan can work a hallucinogenic agent into the waterline with Batman Begins Scarecrow, could a freeze-ray be such a hard sell? Science can do a lot, including freeze things. People would buy into that since it's not to fantastical, mix in the fact that Freeze is something of a tragic character and there's the potential for real storytelling there.

The Penguin - A pretty decent chance here, but Nolan would have to steer clear of a Penguin similar to Batman Returns. Which without that you have well, a normal criminal who's more akin to a Dick Tracy villain.

Poison Ivy - Yeah she already appeared in a Batman film, but so did the Joker. I think the character has real depth that was barely touched with the film Batman and Robin. Given a science based origin that could be tied into Wayne Corp. and I think we have a pretty solid villain here.

Ra's Al Ghul - The eternal eco-terrorist was a surprise for the first film, but I can't see Nolan and crew going back to that well for a third installment. Especially since he "died" in the first film. Sure Ra's has died in the books, but always returns via the Lazarus Pits, which may come off as too hard to buy into with Nolan's groundlevel, more human approach for the movies.

The Riddler - I never cared for the Riddler too much, what good is a criminal who leaves clues? Kind of counter productive unless you're something of a masochist I guess. Jim Carrey gave us the Riddler in Batman Forever, but a toned down actual Riddler may be decent character.

The Scarecrow - Again, we just had him in Batman Begins and a cameo in The Dark Knight, I think it's safe to say that Dr. Crane has had his time in the spotlight.

Two-Face - Here we go. He was set up brilliantly in The Dark Knight, and we're told he "died", but honestly that fall? Probably not enough to kill someone. There could easily been a cover up to keep Dent's tragic fate a secret from a City that loved him. Should Dent turn up alive he'd have his reasons for hating Batman and Gotham for what happened to him. Two Face actually was able to steal the spotlight from the Joker with his appearance, think of what he could do with a whole film?

The Ventriloquist - A throwaway villain that people keep bringing back. He's basically a crazy man with a ventriloquist dummy, and the dummy just happens to be a mob boss. Sorry, he worked in Batman: The Animated Series but not in a movie.

So for one of the biggest rogues gallery's in comics there aren't a lot of characters strong enough to carry a villain role in a feature film who already haven't. I guess we'll have to see if and whenever Nolan and crew decide to have another go.