In celebration of the long-awaited sequel to The Batman finally going into production (as well as shooting a few miles from where I’m currently typing), I’ve decided to have some well-deserved Dark Knight-related Fun. Dream casting is always a blast because everyone has their own versions of these characters in their heads. The presence of Harvey and Gilda Dent in the upcoming The Batman 2 – suggesting Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s The Long Halloween has been dusted off yet again – could mean villains, villains, and more villains. Which is as good a reason as any to share some of my dream fan-casts for the Caped Crusader’s iconic rogue’s gallery. Let’s get into it!
Mr Freeze: Mads Mikkelsen
We here at No But Listen are Mads superfans thanks to his amazing body of work, whether it’s Hollywood blockbusters (veering between “eye-catching support” to “the only good thing about them”) or his peerless Scandinavian work in the likes of The Hunt and The Last Viking. Mikkelsen has the range and the depth to ground Mr Freeze in Matt Reeves world. He could rehabilitate the character to something more akin to the tragic and iconic version from Batman: The Animated Series rather than the punning monstrosity who makes his henchmen dance for him while smoking a cigar that would be useless due to his core temperature. Can you tell I’ve thought too much about this?
Scarecrow: Gustaf Skarsgård
Keeping it Scandinavian (they do have such great actors), I need only exhibit one piece of evidence for this pick and that is Gustaf Skarsgård’s role in Vikings as the mad spiritualist, Floki. A trickster, a madman, and a devout servant of the gods, as Floki, Gustaf Skarsgård was, by turns, funny, loopy, and downright terrifying. He imbued the character with such menace that he would have been the last person I would want to meet on the battlefield. Gustaf Skarsgård could easily transfer that unpredictability and madness to the role of Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. Plus, it never felt like Cillian Murphy, or the character, got a fair shot in Nolan’s trilogy, so The Batman franchise, as long as it doesn’t take another million years to make another one, could be that chance.
Talia Al Ghul: Julia Estelle
Another character that needs some cinematic rehab from her only movie appearance, Talia was done very dirty by an Oscar-winning actor and a director who both should known better than to foist the worst death scene in Batman movie history on her. My solution: make her the badass, maniacal Daughter of the Demon and cast an actor who can throw down with the best of them. Probably still most known as Hammer Girl for The Raid 2, Estelle has a lot of action roles in her filmography, but the standout would be her supporting role in the bloodfest The Night Comes for Us. Estelle is a great actor and action performer who would have the chops to go toe-to-toe with Battinson as well as confusing the poor man with her affection.
What iconic rogues would you like to see in the new Batman movie, and who would you want to see playing them? Let us know in the comments, and check out the rest of my Batman retrospective here! If you enjoyed this article and want to see more stuff like it, please consider supporting us on Ko-Fi.
By Kevin Boyle
(header image via Wikipedia)
No But Listen 