The Batman is officially getting a sequel featuring the cast of Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, and more as directed by Matt Reeves. This was expected after The Batman had a successful run in theaters, though it is still good to hear a sequel officially get greenlit after DC films recently got new ownership under the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery. Immediately, people speculated about the potential villain or villains for the sequel of The Batman. Let’s get right to six of the best potential options for the Caped Crusader to take on next. Please note that there are SPOILERS from The Batman in this article.
Joker
First, let’s start with the character that made a very brief appearance in The Batman: his arch nemesis, the Joker. Played by Barry Keoghan, the character is not visible, staying mostly in the shadows of Arkham Asylum—so, this could mean the Reeves ultimately goes in another direction and recasts the iconic villain if he wasn’t thrilled with Keoghan’s portrayal (there have been complaints, and keep in mind that Reeves did cut a longer scene with Batman and the Joker from the movie). Either way, Reeves might want to save the Joker instead of using him in the second film of a potential trilogy like The Dark Knight did.
Penguin
Oswald Cobblepot, played by an unrecognizable Colin Farrell, is working his way up through the crime underworld in The Batman (and he’s getting his own series on HBO Max), and he might profile as more of a secondary villain throughout Reeves’ films. However, Batman already came face-to-face with Oz during his detective work in the first movie, and it’s a natural fit to make the Penguin an even bigger adversary moving forward.
Mr. Freeze
We had Mr. Freeze in 1997’s Batman & Robin, but many people have tried to block that film out of the Batman canon. The character could work well in a more serious Gotham City like the one Reeves has put on screen, and it would be interesting to see how Mr. Freeze could be more of a grounded character.
Hush
Bringing Hush on the screen would be the first time in live action, so it would be a nice switch up for Reeves to go away from the usual suspects as the primary villain. Hugo Strange is another relatively similar option to consider, but Hush might create more layers for Batman and Bruce Wayne to deal with.
Two-Face
It sounds like Harvey Dent was going to be in The Batman (the role was reportedly passed on by Succession star Jeremy Strong), so Reeves obviously has some interest in having the well-known villain become a foe for Batman to deal with. Like the Joker, this would mean having the same villain in the second film of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, but it could be different enough if the Joker is not heavily involved. Keep in mind that Two-Face is involved in two comics that influenced The Batman (The Long Halloween and Year One), so it’s easy to envision Reeves wanting to get him into the fold moving forward.
Court of Owls
Finally, the Court of Owls seems to be the villains that are the most popular pick on social media to this point. Both Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano are intrigued by the possibility, as evident in a Vanity Fair video where Pattinson brings them up multiple times and even goes as far as saying that he thinks they will be the sequel. After The Batman had an aura of mystery surrounding the story, the Court of Owls would fit right into Matt Reeves’ universe.