An impressive new piece of The Batman 2 fan art imagines the rise of Scarecrow as Robert Pattinson's next villain. Released earlier this year to strong reviews from audiences and critics, Matt Reeves' film introduces Pattinson's take on the Caped Crusader. The Batman sees Pattinson's hero working to solve disturbing puzzles around a dark and gloomy Gotham City in order to stop Paul Dano's Riddler from carrying out his deadly plan. In addition to the Riddler, the film also features Colin Farrell's Penguin and briefly teases the arrival of the Joker (Barry Keoghan). The success of the first film led Warner Bros. to announce that Reeves and Pattinson would return for a sequel.
With The Batman 2 now in the early stages of development, with Reeves currently writing the script, a new piece of fan art from artist Jaxson Derr on Instagram imagines that Pattinson's hero could be facing off against Scarecrow in the sequel. The art, which proposes the title, The Batman: Fear City, for the sequel, features the Caped Crusader perched atop a spire that bears a striking resemblance to Scarecrow as he appears in the comics. Check out the fan art below:
Who Could The Batman 2's Villain Be?
With a script for The Batman 2 not even confirmed to have been completed yet, who the film's villain will be is anybody's guess, but there are a number of possibilities. After the Riddler is caught and put in jail, it's teased that his cell neighbor is, in fact, the Joker. This is confirmed in a subsequently-released deleted scene, which sees Pattinson's Batman visit the Joker in prison in an attempt to extract information that could lead to catching Dano's villain. It's certainly possible that the sequel will see Keoghan's take on the Clown Prince of Crime take center stage, but there are a number of other villains from the comics who could also serve as the Caped Crusader's main antagonist.
The ending to The Batman actually sees the Riddler's plan partially succeed, with Gotham's seawall destroyed by some well-placed explosives. The subsequent flooding of the city could potentially create an interesting setting for Reeves' sequel, with crime flourishing as Gotham remains in a state of emergency. What's more, the flooding would be even more devastating with the arrival of winter, which could make Mr. Freeze in The Batman 2 an interesting proposition. Outside of villains that have already been part of previous adaptations, Reeves' sequel could also choose to introduce a villain like Hush, who is subtly teased in the first film, or a criminal organization like The Court of Owls.
Many questions remain about what Reeves is cooking up for The Batman 2, but there is no shortage of villains for the writer and director to pull from. Scarecrow was last seen in live-action in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, played to great effect by Cillian Murphy, but the villain may feel even more at home in Reeves' darker and grimier take on Gotham City. With a script for the film not even completed yet, it will likely be a long while before fans find out more concrete details about The Batman 2.
Source: Jaxson Derr
