There has been much speculation as to who the next Batman villain(s) will be. Many rumors are pointing towards Catwoman. The Riddler's name has also been tossed around. Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia, has been rumored as well. The Penguin has gotten a little play, but not much.
To me the answer is obvious, The Riddler. He is probably the second best Bat-villain behind The Joker. Give us a proper rendition of The Riddler, we deserve it. Jim Carrey's performance as The Ridder was completely dull. It was just The Mask meets Ace Ventura in a question mark suit. Give us a Riddler that is intelligent, not a laughing, skipping red-headed moron. Do not give us a loony that wants revenge because he was fired. Give us the ultimate battle of wits.
That is my first choice for the next film. My second choice is Mr. Freeze. Talk about an abject failure. Casting Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was total insanity. Mr. Freeze is not a giant gorilla in a sparkly suit. He is a calm, calculating criminal master. It seems that most people don't think he fits into Christopher Nolan's vision of Gotham. Why not? Nolan's Gotham is amazingly dark and Nihlistic. Mr. Freeze fits right into that setting. It would work.
I have given some thought as to who could play these two villains. I could see a few people playing The Riddler, but only one person can play Mr. Freeze. Jeremy Irons. He has a very calm yet disquieting demeanor. His voice has the perfect tone and cadance for Freeze. Apart from those things, he's a phenomenal actor. I might be wrong, but he really isn't a popular actor. I don't mean popular as in "people don't like him," but I mean people just don't know him. But that is a good thing for the world of Batman. We need actors who aren't astronomically popular. Jeremy Irons is perfect.Now the choice of The Ridder is much more difficult. Like I said, there are a few possibilities. It all depends on what kind of Riddler you want.
Guy Pearce is my first choice. He has the ability to be cocky and somewhat arrogant. Those are traits he displayed as Edmond Exley in L.A. Confidential. He also has the ability to be very calm and quiet, which he displayed in The Proposition. Then there's the fact that he worked with Nolan on Memento. I think that chemistry would make for a great Riddler. Plus Pearce is very slender and muscular. So he wouldn't be a push-over in a fight.
David Thewlis is my second choice. I'm going out on a limb with this choice. He is definitely not a "name" actor. He was in The Island of Dr. Moreau, Dragonheart, The Big Lebowski, and Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban. One of those movies is awesome, the others are not. He played Knox Harrington in The Big Lebowski. He did not have a big role, but he was able to give a stranger performance than anybody else in the film in his three minutes of glory. He is odd in all of his roles actually. He is tall, he is skinny, and he is weird. The Riddler is all three of those things. He would be a great "sleeper" for the Riddler.
My third, and most surprising choice, is David Bowie. He is the very definition of odd. Just look at how the man dressed in the 70s and 80s. Take a look at his performance as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige. He had a small role, but he was very good. He was very strange and enigmatic. Clearly the Riddler possesses those two qualities. Why not Bowie? It makes sense.Those are my thoughts on the next Batman villain(s). Of course they could always bring back Harvey Two-Face.
