Blu Man

Hell yeah!

Terrell

Yeah, but they were completely useless against Batman. Joker was a match for Batman not because he was worth a toot in a fight, but because he was smart and tricky. Plus, Catwoman is deadly with a whip. She could be much more athletic and dangerous than she was portrayed in the Keaton film.

I don't actually think Catwoman will be in the next Batman film though. So the discussion is irrelevant.

Giantrobo

Yeah, Wayne Industries should be touched by this too.

It would be funny to see Batman cutting back on using Batarangs and Smoke bombs to save money.

bwvanh114

Whichever character is the villain, I hope it's played by Will Smith with a minimum of two aw hell naws built into his contract.

DGibFen

I would think Lady Shiva fits in Nolan's universe better.

Artman

I guess since we no longer have a female lead/love interest, a female villain would make sense to help fill that role. The quip about cats in TDK leads me to believe that would be the obvious choice. Nolan proved he can make a sprawling 2 1/2 hr movie with multiple villains work, so hopefully we get that approach for this third one. I'd vote for no Joker, that's done let's move on from it... you can reference the character, maybe he puts things in motion for the 3rd one, who knows...but no screen time for him.

Supermallet

You mean cut back more than in The Dark Knight, where he used Batarangs and smoke bombs a total of zero times?

Deftones

I disagree. I could see it working very well.

Supermallet

A dude who simultaneously does steroids (well, a chemically altered venom, but you get the drift) but is also a criminal mastermind? Or are we talking about the dumbed-down version of Bane?

fumanstan

I think it's funny we're back to the same villain discussions we had a year ago. I think a crafty muscled Bane would work just fine.

TheMovieman

I would like him just to erase the awful adaptation they did in Batman & Robin.

hardercore

I can see the Joker playing a small role at the beginning of the film, a la Cillian Murphy's character in The Dark Knight.

Ranger

Never heard of her. She could be interesting. Bane is a good name, too. Harley would be fun but wouldn't work without the Joker.

DthRdrX

Bane would definitely work! The Venom isn't much more of a stretch than Crane's fear toxin. He doesn't have to be as big as previous incarnations either.

The series is missing a female character but don't forget the mob! Nolan's focus in his first two films was not only the supervillians, but the mob itself, something the previous movies ignored. In Batman Begins Falcone goes away. TDK sees the end for the rest of them. The ongoing theme of esculation points at a super villain taking over the mob. Probably either Penguin or Black Mask. Just my guess though.

Supermallet

I still think Philip Seymour Hoffman could be utterly brilliant as The Penguin. Before I saw TDK, I presumed the movie would end with Two Face getting away, and that the third film would start with him consolidating control of the mob. Obviously we now know that isn't the case.

Dr. DVD

I also think Philip Seymour Hoffman would make a great Penguin. If they take the route with Catwoman, I would like to recommend Anne Hathaway. She might seem unlikely, but she can be quite a good actress and seems to have the athletic ability. As for Riddler, I think Hugo Weaving would make a good one, provided he doesn't opt to go over the top. That was the big problem with the Batman movies of the 90s; they just let the actors go over the top with everything and they played caricatures of villains as opposed to actual threats.

Deftones

criminal mastermind. have him come in and pick up the slack and take over the criminal underworld after the bats is a "fugitive" and the joker was taken down. pretty much like he was in the TAS series.

Solid Snake

yeah the TAS Bane was badass.

Anne Hataway is too young in comparison to Christian Bale. We need an adult woman to play Selina Kyle not a young woman.

StatMan79

That could hit the nail on the head. Nolan's opted to go with villains who are more probable in a real setting and a reason why I think someone like Black Mask who ties in the mob and his own abilities makes sense.

Boba Fett

My suggestions for new villain:

False Face
Talia Al Ghul (as The Phantasm)

Zen Peckinpah

How about Rupert Thorne?

Artman

Yes, but any replacement by another actor will be what everyone talks about, overshadowing everything else...something I don't think the director would want. Just my opinion.

RocShemp

I'd like to see Jean Paul Valley reworked as a member of the League of Shadows who masquerades as a murderous vigilante the police mistake for Batman.

NoirFan

Cate Blanchett? Though she is pushing 40. And PSH would be the perfect Penguin.

gryffinmaster

I'm still behind Marion Cotillard as Selina Kyle.