DC's upcoming film The Batman is giving the Caped Crusader a new life outside of the DCEU, but actor Jeffrey Wright feels the movie's sequel should have new villains - and he's both right and wrong. Starring Robert Pattinson as billionaire vigilante Bruce Wayne, The Batman is the first movie to feature a new actor as Batman following Ben Affleck announcing his departure from the role after his last turn in Justice League. It also marks the first Batman solo film since Christian Bale last suited up in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. While Affleck leaving after reprising the role one last time in the upcoming Flash movie has left a lot of questions regarding the future of Batman and all of the Bat Family characters in the DCEU, The Batman's departure from the shared universe gives the Matt Reeves Batman franchise a lot of freedom.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Jeffrey Wright - who plays Detective Jim Gordon in The Batman - addressed that freedom. When asked about which villains he would like to see Pattinson's Batman face in future The Batman movies, he mentioned that Batman has a lot of interesting villains in his popular Rogues Gallery, but that there could also be an opportunity for their franchise to create new villains. Director Matt Reeves has received a lot of attention for The Batman's new takes on the classic Batman rogues like Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and the Riddler (Paul Dano). Should Reeves' Batman franchise be focused on adapting existing characters from the Batman comics, or is this the perfect opportunity to try creating entirely new villains?
Jeffrey Wright is both right and wrong about how The Batman franchise should approach villains in the future. For one thing, Wright is right that the Batman TV series has a history of creating new villainous characters for the screen. The most successful example in the past few decades is Harley Quinn, who was created as a love interest for The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. When it works well, you get one of the most popular characters in the DC canon. However, Batman has perhaps the most iconic villains of any superhero, some of whom deserve big-screen revivals the way Reeves is doing with Catwoman, Riddler, and Penguin. Batman also has a lot of interesting villains that have yet to be adapted on the silver screen. While there's certainly room to create new villains for Bruce Wayne, it would be a lost opportunity to bring some of Batman's most dynamic villains to life.
The biggest argument in favor of creating new villains is Harley Quinn. Since debuting on TV in 1992, Harley Quinn has become one of DC's most popular characters, especially following Margot Robbie's portrayal of her in the DCEU. Not only has she been a good supporting character for Batman in the last 30 years, but she has become extremely successful in her own right. However, replicating the success of a character like Harley Quinn would be difficult. Even without her level of popularity, creating a new villain that audiences actually like is a gamble. Batman already has iconic villains, which are much more likely to be well-received by DC fans.
A better move would be to adapt some of Batman's villains who never or rarely have live-action interpretations. The Court of Owls, for instance, who are a secret society of wealthy Gothamites who have controlled Gotham for centuries, are often at odds with Batman in the comics. Robert Pattinson's Batman is new to the cowl, which also makes this franchise the perfect place to introduce the Court of Owls, who would be frustrated with Gotham's new vigilante - to name just one example.
Creating original villains for The Batman could work and has worked for the hero in the past, but it would probably serve the Batverse better to make use of Batman's existing villains. With Robert Pattinson as Batman, Matt Reeves has already promised a different take on the Caped Crusader. The Batman movies should also look to create new takes on Batman's villains.
