The Batman 2 Has Two Perfect Villains (But Should Avoid The Joker)

screenrant.com:

With The Batman 2 in the works, speculations have begun regarding what villains the sequel will feature, and there are two perfect options not named the Joker. Matt Reeves’ The Batman offered a new and exciting take on the caped crusader, grounding it in realism while focusing on the detective aspect of the comics that has been long neglected in previous cinematic incarnations. However, much like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, The Batman 2 has the challenging task of finding itself a villain that would suit the aesthetic and stylistic aspirations that Reeves established in The Batman.

For instance, the ending of The Batman may have the perfect set-up for a new Poison Ivy, but it’s difficult to imagine such an outlandish villain functioning within the gritty and bleak Gotham City that Matt Reeves so vividly imagined. For this same reason, there are many other Batman villains that simply would not mesh well with Reeves’ vision of the beloved comic book hero and his home city. Even the Joker, a character who saw great success in other realistic takes like Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Todd Phillips’ standalone Joker film, might not be the best choice for a sequel to The Batman. With all that in mind, what exactly would make for a good villain for The Batman 2?

Related: Everything We Know About The Batman 2

Unfortunately, The Batman’s style repeats Nolan’s villain problem insofar as it limits what characters are suited for Reeves’ depiction of the masked vigilante. The Batman 2 will have to draw from a reduced pool of Batman villains that fulfill one of two criteria: they would have provided the film with a detective story similar to the Riddler’s in The Batman, or they would have to adhere to Reeves’ grounded