Maxflier

I definately count Scarecrow in the "big villain" category, it's Ra's Al Ghul who I consider one of the second tier ones.

Mr. Cinema

I'm not so sure he would want to be a comic book villain. Plus, he just played an arms dealer in MI3. Hoffman carefully chooses roles. He likes playing different characters. However, The Penguin is definitely a different character. If he does do it, I'd like to see a 100% non-campy Penguin. At least one that actually appears scary/threatening.

boredsilly

If the Penguin plays his role of underworld arms/drug/art/anything illegal dealer, and not a proper foe for Batman I have no problem with that. Ledger as Joker I can see, though I haven't really liked him in any movie I've seen him in. He does have a naturally huge smile, so that's working in his favor.

I can't help but be cautiously optimistic about the movie. Great title though.

I like how the latest batch of super hero movies are more serial in nature than stand alone. With that in mind I think Nolan dropped the ball with not having a Harvey Dent/Bruce Wayne relationship established in the first movie. Harvey's story could have been told over all three (or however many) movies. That would have been cool to see.

raven56706

i would love to see scarecrow again... he was great...

Thank god for Nolan

Artman

Yeah, I like the idea of having multiple villains in smaller roles or even cameos. It's the only way some of them will ever be realized in this series...which will no doubt give us three with Nolan and company....but after that it's up in the air.

RyoHazuki

Lets hope they go with no love interest. I hate how every superhero film needs a girl to love the alter ego, get kidnapped, and saved in the final act.

RocShemp

Love the title but the casting of Ledger doesn't sound official but, from what I get after reading the first post, close to official. It all boils down to if Ledger says yes. Although I don't see why he'd say no. Anyway, I too hope the Penguin is in a Falcone type role. Given Falcone is out of the game, there's a big hole in the underworld that the Penguin is the right guy to fill.

Any word on who will be Harvey Dent?

RocShemp

I always felt that if you removed the kiss and "man I loved" dialog from the tail end of the film, Rachel Dawes could have easily been re-written as Harvey Dent. And, although Nolan and Goyer claim the role was written with Katie Holmes in mind, I often wonder if it wasn't originally meant to be Harvey and some studio exec insisted on a love interest for Bruce.

Groucho

For a while, no kidding, the rumor was Jake Gyllenhal.

RocShemp

I remeber that. I just wondered if anything official ever turned up. I've been hoping Liev Schreiber would be cast as Harvey.

fumanstan

I have enough faith in Nolan that Hedger is the right person for the role.

RocShemp

I have faith in Nolan but not blind faith. We musn't forget that, prior to Christian Bale wowing Nolan during his screen test, Nolan's #1 choice for Batman was Jake Gyllenhal. I have nothing against Jake Gyllenhal but he would have been a terribly misscast as Batman.

Eric D.

Liev Schreiber would be the BEST Dent, no question. I also think Peter Sarsgaard would be a good choice. Just don't bring back Billy D. Williams.

naitram

So the Scracecrow won't be in this one?

If there's going to be a Penguin in this, it needs to be David Suchet. Bob Hoskins would be cool too.

GIjon213

Two things:

In the comic books, what does penguin play? A mob boss, weapons dealer, etc...?

Also, I once thought that multiple villians were bad, but I can't wait for Spiderman 3, which has three villians, not to mention Peter fighting himself. I think that the smaller roles some villians play should develop through the story and proceed into the next movie, i.e. green/hobgoblin saga.

Ravenous

Guy Pearce for Dent I say. He would kick ass. But Liev Schreiber is a good follow up.

As far as Scarecrow, a SWEET cameo would simply be him in the asylum. That would make me happier than hell.

Goldberg74

I know you are being serious, but I just had to at this idea.

chess

Virtually anybody with some chops and a good profile can play Dent...so I'm not really sure what the fuss is about there.

I can also see Ledger as the Joker...sort of. At very least, I trust that Nolan saw something in his reading that worked for him...and it will probably work for me too.

Ultimately, I think it will all work out fine...just keep the tone and don't fuck with the tumbler.

Mr. Cinema

I could see Gyllenhal as Two-Face, especially after seeing the sequence in Jarhead where he loses his self control. He definitely has the ability to appear a little crazy on film.

Doughboy

I wonder if there'll be any tension on the set should Philip Seymour Hoffman get cast as the Penguin. He did beat out Heath Ledger for that Best Actor trophy a few months ago.

Paul_SD

the inclusion of the Penguin makes 100% complete sense for this film- assuming they are going to be attempting straight continuity with the first one (which probably more than anything else, I do hope they do).
As someone else mentioned- in this uinverse, Falcone is now out of the picture and a void like that is going to be filled - and that void is probably going to be addressed in the film (maybe people are reluctant to step in, because everytime a new 'boss' is speculated on in the media, the Batman pays them a call and spooks them off- which in Batman language means leaving them tied up by their ankles and dangling off the ledge of a 20 story building). If Nolan is doing the Penguin, I'm looking forward to seeing it- because that means he will be a real character with a real (story) purpose- and thats always fun to watch.

The Joker may or may not be the 'main' character after all- at least in terms of the plot of the film. Its possible that he could be appreheded fairly early in the film and the rest of the movie is Batman labouring to first deduce and then prevent some cataclysmic catastrophe that Joker may have set into motion.

Or its possible they will attempt to follow a Silence Of The Lambs type structure.

Its possible the Joker may be bump off someone close to The Penguin which means he wouldn't only have the police and Batman after him.

Lots of interesting new ways to go with this material, and I can't wait to see where Nolan takes.

ToddSm66

From the same source as the original post:

http://www.batman-on-film.com/batmovienews.html

I got wind of this rumor (and that’s all it is right now, OK?) not long ago from one of my industry friends. At the time, he himself said I should sit on it as it was nothing more than scuttlebutt and couldn’t be confirmed. So that’s exactly what I did -- I sat on it and didn‘t mention it on BOF. Then today, I got an email from an emailer who has absolutely nothing to do with my insider amigo, but dropped the same bit of info the former had previously.

Both mentioned a name of a soon to be 32 year old actor who may, according to what both these guys heard, be being considered for the part of D.A. Harvey Dent. He’s an actor similar to 27 year old Heath Ledger to a certain degree, although he’s nearly five years his senior. Who is this actor you ask? Ryan Phillippe.

RocShemp

Except that Gordon said that Crane hadn't been caught. He's still out there. I would love to see a teaser sequence or a brief unrelated cameo to remind the audience that a whole slew of loonies are still on the loose since the events of Batman Begins.

Hmm. Can't say if I think that's good or bad.

auto

I can say that it is bad quite easily.

RocShemp

I just think it's weird.