Matt Reeves' The Batman is reportedly close to announcing casting news for its supporting characters, including Catwoman, Two-Face, Penguin, and Riddler. The movie will star Robert Pattinson as a younger iteration of Bruce Wayne, but it won't be an origin story for the character. Reeves has described it as a noir-driven detective story, but plot details are being kept under wraps for now.
Pattinson's Batman will have a lot on his plate given the number of villains that are expected to appear in the movie. The Batman is currently putting its cast together and there has already been recent casting news, with Westworld's Jeffrey Wright in line to play Commissioner Gordon and Jonah Hill in talks for another role - believed to be either Riddler or Penguin. The movie is set to release in summer 2021, which means that filming is expected to begin in late 2019 or early 2020
According to Forbes, we can finally expect to hear some concrete casting news soon. The Batman is in the process of casting its major roles, with Catwoman, Riddler, Two-face and Penguin named as some of the main characters and "a host of other villains" expected to appear. According to this report, Hill is currently vacillating between the roles of Riddler and Penguin, with his representatives "negotiating with Warner about which is the ideal choice." Other than Hill and Wright, however, Warner Bros. has done a good job of keeping casting talks under wraps, which means that the upcoming casting announcements could have some exciting surprises in store.
The Batman's place within the DC Extended Universe has been a little confusing, especially given that it was originally meant to star and be directed by Ben Affleck, but Wright's casting suggests that this is something of a fresh start. The only villains who are definitely not expected to make an appearance are the Joker and Harley Quinn, since they're busy elsewhere. Jared Leto's Joker, who appeared in Suicide Squad, appears to have been quietly retired, while Joaquin Phoenix is playing a different version of the character in Todd Phillips' standalone story Joker, out this week.
Forbes' Mark Hughes speculates that Warner Bros. will aim to ride the post-Joker DC hype with a wave of casting announcements for The Batman, since the timing works out perfectly. The studio has a lot invested in the movie, which is intended to be the first in a trilogy of Batman movies. That only makes the impending casting news all the more important, because Batman is really only as good as his rogues' gallery.
Source: Forbes
