The Batman has once again made the Caped Crusader DC's biggest hero on the big screen, with the film receiving acclaim and hype unseen since Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. Obviously, there are already plans for more from Warner Bros. and director Matt Reeves, including which villains Robert Pattinson's Batman will face. Of course, with this should also come some tough decisions.
The Batman has been such a breath of fresh air in the current comic book movie landscape because it's so gritty and grounded. This contrasts not only with other DC movies, but especially with that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thus, its sequels should maintain this film noir style, all while using villains who naturally fit within it.
The Batman Works Well Because of Its Tone
The Batman, though more stylized than the Nolan trilogy, is still very much of the same cloth given its grounded and realistic on the Caped Crusader. The film feels much more at home as a noir crime drama than anything particularly "comic booky," and that's more than welcome. The DC Extended Universe is focusing on the more fantastical side of DC's characters, including Batman. The upcoming film Batgirl will likely have a more "fun" and arguably cartoony take on Batman, so this can be where certain elements of the mythology can naturally show up.
Likewise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been known for its more lighthearted, arguably cookie-cutter, across the board tone. Given its prominence within the superhero movie genre, it's great to have another big production do something completely opposite. On this note, The Batman abandoning its tone and scope in its sequels simply to introduce concepts and characters that don't fit with what made the first film so great would be an immense waste. It also shows how, for once, listening to the fans might not be in the franchise's best interest.
The Batman's Sequels Should Not Use Unrealistic Villains
To keep with this tone, sequels to The Batman should not even try to involve any of Batman's more outlandish foes. These include Man-Bat, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Clayface. They simply would not fit at all with the world that Reeves has created, and would feel at odds with what people liked about it so far. Perhaps the biggest reason to avoid using them, however, is that many don't even really fit in with Batman in the comics. There's no real "hook" to connect them to Batman and his world in the comic books, so it'd be that much harder to give them that sort of depth to fit in this noir detective world. Though The Riddler may have been a lot zanier in most of the comics, a serial killer who leaves riddles behind fits Reeves' world much better than a woman who controls plants.
It's probably best to not even try to make these villains fit in the world of The Batman, either. For instance, a version of Mr. Freeze who doesn't have the ice gun or refrigerator suit could be criticized as "Freeze in Name Only." This will likely only draw fan ire, as they'll complain that Reeves is "taking the fun" out of goofier characters who theretofore likely hadn't had too many great stories to their name anyway. A powerless Poison Ivy would likely invite complaints, especially since her only other live-action movie role was in the maligned Batman & Robin. The only character on the more fantastic side of Batman's Rogues Gallery who would work in this world would be Killer Croc, namely as imagined in the Bronze Age as well as the comic book Joker. There, he's not at all the unrealistic lizard man that he's devolved into in modern stories, and is instead what he was meant to be: a common crook with a disturbing skin condition.
Other more grounded foes could also be used, such as Hugo Strange, the arguable Riddler-lookalike Hush, the killer Professor Pyg and the enigmatic Court of Owls. Hopefully, Matt Reeves will plan on giving them the big screen treatment instead of trying to somehow incorporate villains who shouldn't even be in his version of Gotham City.
For a dark and gritty return to Gotham City, watch The Batman, now in theaters.