Out of all the most iconic superheroes around, most fans would probably agree Batman has the rogues’ gallery that boasts the most strength in depth. Despite such an extensive roster of antagonists, though, the live-action movies dating right back to Tim Burton’s 1989 original have largely relied on the same core crew of villains.
During the Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck and now Robert Pattinson eras, we’ve seen three actors embody the Joker, with Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck even interacting with a young Bruce Wayne in Todd Phillips’ billion-dollar smash hit for good measure. Additionally, we’ve seen three versions of Catwoman, a pair of Banes, a couple of Penguins, a double dose of the Riddler and a trio of Harvey Dents.
Matt Reeves’ The Batman will tell origin stories for his Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nashton respectively, but insider Daniel Richtman is claiming that Robert Pattinson wants his Caped Crusader to meet all of the major DC villains. Of course, it’s entirely down to personal preference who you consider the top tier adversaries, but you’d imagine that the Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Ra’s Al Ghul, Hugo Strange, Poison Ivy and Bane would be in with a shot of making the cut.
Before we knew much about The Batman, there was talk that at least half a dozen villains would make their presence felt, although that no longer seems to be the case given what we’ve learned. One hypothetical method of giving Pattinson his purported wish could be to simply feature an extended sequence set at Arkham Asylum, which could introduce, tease or hint towards all of the Dark Knight’s biggest bads in one fell swoop, leaving plenty of doors open for the future.