Batman is widely considered to have the best rogues gallery in comics. Some of his villains, like the homicidal maniac Joker and the thief Catwoman, have seen multiple big-screen incarnations. Others, like shape-shifter Clayface, and human-bat hybrid Man-Bat, have yet to appear in live-action in theaters. The latter is on the less realistic side of the spectrum.Matt Reeves talked toColliderabout how he wants hisThe Batmanfilm to be “grounded.” This idea does not mean that fantastical villains won’t eventually show up. One of his favorite enemies that he would like to include in potential sequels is the sympathetic Mr. Freeze.
Who is Mr. Freeze?
First introduced in 1959, Mr. Freeze, who was initially known as Mr. Zero, used to be a very campy character. He was basically a criminal with a gun that could freeze objects. It wasn’t untilBatman: The Animated Seriesthat a darker, more complex, and serious Freeze emerged. In the Emmy-winningHeart of Iceepisode, Mr. Freeze was turned into a character who commits his crimes in an attempt to avenge his terminally ill wife. After his corporate boss pushes him into a vat of chemicals, Freeze is left with the condition that leaves him unable to survive in temperatures above zero degrees. His wife at the time was thought to have died in the incident. Later, he realizes she is alive but still with a deadly disease. Every questionable act he commits is part of his plan to save her. The shift in character was so well received that his character was changed in the comics to fit the tv show’s aspects. While Freeze has not appeared in a live-action motion picture in years,he was going to be a part ofThe Suicide Squadbefore those plans were scrapped. Mr. Freeze is someone thatMatt Reevescould see fitting into future installments.
Reeves would like to bring a more grounded version of the character. He said:
“In my view, I just feel drawn to finding the grounded version of everything. So to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr. Freeze, that such a great story, right? I think there’s actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great. So, I love the fantastical side of Batman, but this iteration, obviously, while being, to me, I think it is very comics faithful, but I don’t think that this one is necessarily, it doesn’t lean as hard into the fantastical, I guess. But I think to me what would be interesting would be to try and unwind the fantastical and see, well, how could that make sense here? And so that’s kind of my view, how I see it.”
His statements indicate that we could see super-powered villains in sequels. Don’t expect to see campy portrayals in the future, like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s panned version in 1997’sBatman & Robin. If Mr. Freeze can come to Reeves' projects, the potential for villains like Clayface and Man-Bat to arrive in theaters exists.
In addition toThe Batmanmovie, two spinoffs are already in the works. Both are tv shows that will air on the HBO Max streaming service. One of the series will center around the Gotham City Police Department, while the other is about Colin Ferrell’s Penguin. Supporting cast members for the film include Zoë Kravitzas Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wrightas police commissioner James Gordon, Andy Serkisas Alfred Pennyworth, and Paul Danoas The Riddler.
