10 Characters We'd Love To See In The Batman 2

While no sequel to Matt Reeves' "The Batman" has been formally announced, that hasn't stopped fans of the film from speculating about what the sequel could be about ... and which new characters a sequel might introduce. 

Matt Reeves' 2022 film gave us new versions of not just Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) but also Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, the Riddler, Oswald Cobblepot (aka The Penguin), Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), and even a glimpse at The Joker ... allegedly. That's an impressive roster of Gotham residents as it is, but there's certainly room for more were "The Batman" to get a sequel with Robert Pattinson in the title role and Reeves' vision expanded. 

Reeves set a very specific tone with "The Batman" that's neither as campy as the Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton films nor as frank and cynical as Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy or Todd Philip's "Joker." It's an exciting prospect to imagine more characters being added to this particular setting. Here, then, are the ones this writer would most like to see added into the mix.

For a brief moment, it looked like Barry Keoghan might be playing Two-Face instead of The Joker in "The Batman." Alas, that turned out to not be the case. That switcheroo does mean, however, that someone else could play the District Attorney. In addition to Aaron Eckhart's performance in "The Dark Knight," Dent has also been played by Billy Dee Williams in "Batman" (1989) and by Tommy Lee Jones in "Batman Forever," so who's next? With a new mayor and a dead district attorney, "The Batman" perfectly paves the way for the next Dent.

Speaking of, at least we have Peter Sarsgaard as that district attorney who gets blown up by the Riddler in "The Batman" as a nice, if somewhat convoluted and possibly unintentional, nod to Dent and (Sarsgaard's real-life wife) Maggie Gyllenhaal's character in "The Dark Knight." Rachel, as you recall, was blown up by the Joker instead of her boyfriend Dent. It's a charming coincidence at minimum.

First and foremost, it would be preferable if the next live-action iteration of Dr. Pamela Isley were to appear in a "Birds of Prey" sequel as a love interest for Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. But if that doesn't happen — and even it does, because if we've learned anything over the last couple of years it's that multiple people can play an iconic comic book character at the same time — Ivy should team up with Zoe Kravitz's Selina Kyle in a sequel to "The Batman." Ivy is also a certified genius and would therefore make a great foil for Pattinson's intellectual take on the World's Greatest Detective. 

Ecoterrorism would also be a good cause, so to speak, for a sequel after "The Batman," which dealt with government conspiracies. It would also be interesting to see how Reeves' take on Gotham handles characters that have actual superpowers (No offense, Bruce).

Literally ... any Robin and/or Nightwing will do. It's just been so long since we've seen a live-action Batman and Robin or the "Bat Family" in general. To be fair, "Bat Family" characters like Helena Bertinelli, Cassandra Cain, and Barbara Gordon popped up in "Birds of Prey" and "Gotham" somewhat recently, and "Titans" is about Dick Grayson (pictured above) and Jason Todd, with Tim Drake waiting in the proverbial wings. But the closest we've had to Robin who actively teams up with Batman is "The Dark Knight Rises." He died off-screen in the Zach Snyder and David Ayer DCEU. And no, the Mayor's son is not going to be Robin in "The Batman" sequel. Sorry 'bout it!

Aren't you kind of curious as to what a grim dark emo version of the Dynamic Duo would be like? Pattinson's chemistry with Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis was one of the best parts of "The Batman." It would be really interesting to see what he would be like as a mentor and a friend to a Robin in this universe — whichever character it may be.

Speaking of both the "Bat Family" and the endlessly watchable bond between Batman and Gordon in Reeves' film, it would be great to add the future Commissioner's daughter, aka Batgirl, to the mix. This isn't the most original idea. There have been and currently are many depictions of this character. She was played previously by actresses including Alicia Silverstone in "Batman & Robin," Yvette Craig in the 60s "Batman" TV series, Jeté Laurence on "Gotham," and currently (pictured above) Savannah Welch on "Titans." There's also going to be a "Batgirl" stand-alone film starring "In The Heights" actress Leslie Grace, with J.K. Simmons reprising his "Justice League" role as Jim Gordon. 

Not to step on Grace or Welch's moment, but it would be nice if Wright's Gordon had a daughter in the sequel. The character is often portrayed as a librarian. What are Gotham libraries like? Probably pretty grimy! What if she's, like, totally uninterested in fighting crime but can't resist a good research project and ends up assisting the World's Greatest Detective, anyway? This is writing itself!

This supervillain is a standout character on HBO Max's "Harley Quinn" animated series. It would be great to see him in a live-action "Batman" film. If Batman can fly in "The Batman," so can Kite Man. According to Twitter director James Gunn considered, and seems still open, to including Kite Man in "The Suicide Squad" and he is briefly referenced in "Peacemaker" ... but perhaps Matt Reeves should snatch him up first.

Sure, he's not the most appealing character. He loves kites. He may not have supernatural abilities, but he's also not the first character in the Bat-verse to be mortal and superpowerless. So what if he's kind of silly, and not too bright? So what if his name is literally Charlie Brown? The easiest way to make that work is to make him an anti-hero like Catwoman who ends up reluctantly helping Batman. On the contrary, to go in another direction, there's nothing scarier than an overconfident idiot. 

Batman had some pretty great gadgets in "The Batman" and we need to see the man behind them at some point. Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox in the "Dark Knight" trilogy is a great, memorable performance. However, since he learns pretty early on that his boss has a secret identity his role in the story becomes almost interchangeable with Alfred. "The Batman" sequel would be a great opportunity to get back to basics with a new Lucius Fox who's just a businessman running Wayne Enterprises, totally oblivious to the fact that he's aiding and abetting a vigilante. 

We don't get a whole lot of the Bruce Wayne in "The Batman." Several characters point this out directly. The billionaire is not much of a playboy. He doesn't go to galas. The Carver twins are absolutely shook when he shows up at the Iceberg Lounge. The sequel definitely needs to delve into the Bruce Wayne side of things a little more. 

One great way to show the Bruce Wayne side of things would be to introduce a love interest from the high society side of the character's life. Someone who could lure him back into that world. In some versions of the comics, Julie Madison is an actress (That feels very similar to Spider-Man's Mary Jane Watson, but could be interesting). In others, she's a socialite who represents the life someone like Bruce Wayne should be leading. 

That said, superhero movies have been moving away from storylines where the hero's love interest doesn't know the secret identity of the person they're dating. This is a good thing! It's an annoying trope. Even if it's intended as a metaphor for how we never truly know a person, it's not healthy to root for romantic relationships built on deliberate lies and deception! So if Julie Madison, or a character like her, is brought into the sequel, she must be made aware of Bruce's double life and not be played for a fool.

Much of the chatter surrounding "The Batman" had to do with the Court of Owls. One of the characters involved in this storyline, Lincoln March, would be interesting to see in the sequel. March is a mayoral candidate in Gotham who believes himself to be Thomas Wayne Jr. and Bruce's younger brother. He sometimes goes by the vigilante monikers Owlman and Talon. Hollywood is a sucker for stories about people claiming to be long-lost heirs, whether it be "Anastasia" or "Game of Thrones" (That "Thrones" storyline unfortunately never made it to the HBO series). Heck, there was even a storyline like this on "Downton Abbey." We should note that in some versions and adaptations of the comics, Lincoln/Owlman is Bruce's brother. But a fraud or scam artist scenario would fit the storylines set up in "The Batman" better.

The people of Gotham already know that Thomas Wayne was up to some shady stuff in the world of "The Batman" thanks to the events of the film. Bruce himself is also in an emotional place where he would probably believe his parents and Alfred kept personal secrets from him as well as political secrets. This would be a perfect time for a secret son to emerge.

We already have Catwoman, Carmine Falcone, the Penguin, the Riddler and the Joker taken care of in "The Batman" — but this hero's rogues gallery is epic. There are so many villains to choose from. Who else should they even attempt next? A safe bet would be someone like Mr. Freeze, Bane, or the Scarecrow. These characters we've seen in previous films. There's also Clayface, a pretty popular character who has not been adapted in a live screen Batman film yet. But this is a great opportunity to get into one of the characters from the Batman rogue's gallery who's a little goofy. Mad Hatter is plenty goofy. He rhymes when he's nervous. That would be so fun. 

Do Mad Hatter next. "The Batman" already established a Gotham plagued with modern technology. The Riddler is a popular-ish (500 followers!) live-streamer. Why not take that one step further and introduce a villain who can really use technology to influence and control the minds of Gotham? Plus, names don't get better than "Jervis Tetch."

The characters Ra's al Ghul and his daughters Nyssa and Talia al Ghul have been exhausted after the Christopher Nolan movies and The CW's "Arrow." They don't need to be adapted again so soon. However, it would be nice to see Bruce Wayne get some combat training or practice in a future film. A character like Lady Shiva, aka Sandra San, would be perfect for that. She's Cassandra Cain's mother in the comics, and even if "The Batman" sequel does not use that version of Batgirl it would be cool to see Batman and Lady Shiva as nontraditional parental figures to another Batgirl or Robin. 

Or Lady Shiva could just be a hired assassin who crosses paths with the vigilante. It's very clear in "The Batman" that Bruce Wayne does not want to kill anyone, even his enemies. So a career killer would be an interesting foil for him, whether they're working with each other or against each other.