Let’s be real: half the fun of being a Batman enthusiast isn’t necessarily watching the movies—it’s dreaming about who will star in the next great villain. With Matt Reeves building a darker, grittier Gotham and Robert Pattinson’s goth Batman making the role his own, it’s time to complete the rest of the rogues’ gallery. From intellectual geniuses to woeful monsters, these are 10 fan casting choices that would slay in the next installment of the Dark Knight saga.
10. Calendar Man – John Malkovich
Yes, Calendar Man. Stick with me. In the right hands, this date-fixated killer can be one of Gotham’s most chilling threats. Less gimmick villain, more unnerving Hannibal Lecter vibe. John Malkovich would kill it—icy, smart, and frightening without getting loud. Just imagine him in a chilling, dark Arkham cell giving creepy monologues while getting into Batman’s head. Creepy genius.
9. Hush – Taron Egerton
Tommy Elliot is not your run-of-the-mill Batman villain—he’s intimate. The boyhood friend-turned-surgical-precision-killer that is Hush requires a performer who can go from charming to creepy. Taron Egerton, charismatic with just the right amount of edge, is the right fit. He’s got the range to bring a warped version of Bruce Wayne to life and the action skills to make Hush a physical menace as well.
8. Poison Ivy – Anya Chalotra
Anya Chalotra has already demonstrated her range and depth in The Witcher, and she’d bring the same level of intensity to Pamela Isley. Ivy is as much a beauty as she is danger, but she’s also incredibly sympathetic. Chalotra would easily tread that tightrope with a performance that’s seductive, emotionally complex, and impossible to turn away from.
7. Harvey Dent / Two-Face – Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm simply seems like Gotham’s golden boy. He’d be perfect as Harvey Dent—the square-jawed DA with drive to match Batman’s idealism—only to disintegrate into the tormented Two-Face. The age gap between Hamm and Pattinson benefits in this situation; it provides Dent with a big-brother vibe that makes his descent all the more heartbreaking.
6. Mr. Freeze – Giancarlo Esposito
Few actors are capable of bringing menace and heartbreak in the same way Giancarlo Esposito does. He might turn Mr. Freeze into a tragic, complex character haunted by loss—beyond mere cold-heartedness. If the film goes all-in with the Heart of Ice origin story, Esposito’s work would be Oscar-worthy. He’d lend gravitas and emotional heft to a character long overdue for a cinematic glow-up.
5. Clayface – David Tennant
Clayface can be Gotham’s most psychologically disturbing villain—and who better to play a role that’s half Shakespearean thespian, half shape-shifting terror than David Tennant? He’s demonstrated his villain skills in Jessica Jones, and as Clayface, Tennant might draw on Gotham’s darker feelings by literally embodying them. Chilling and fascinating.
4. Scarecrow – Matt Smith
Jonathan Crane requires a creepy, intellectual vibe, and Matt Smith delivers in abundance. He can switch from nerdy professor to full-blown nightmare fuel in an instant. His performance would verge on psychological horror, employing fear as both a tool and a commentary. That would be a Scarecrow that would leave Gotham—and viewers—in terror.
3. Hugo Strange – Ben Kingsley
Kingsley has the presence and power to turn Hugo Strange into a spine-tingling puppeteer mastermind of chaos. He wouldn’t require flashy weapons or abilities—only razor-sharp intelligence and manipulative charm. As the mastermind operating Arkham Asylum, Kingsley can create Strange as one of the most treacherous foes Batman has ever encountered.
2. Harley Quinn – Anya Taylor-Joy
Recasting Harley post-Margot Robbie is no easy feat, but Anya Taylor-Joy might bring a new spin. Having played intensity, vulnerability, and unpredictability in Split and The Queen’s Gambit, all of which are essential to Harley, she could be paired with Barry Keoghan’s Joker to bring us a younger, edgier iteration of Gotham’s most dysfunctional duo.
1. Bane – Dave Bautista
Bautista has just the right combination of physical strength and actual acting chops to transform Bane from mere muscle-bound goon to something deeper. Give him a good script, and he could be a master strategist and a multi-scarred, broken soul. This wouldn’t be a cartoonish “I will break you” Bane—it’d be a realistic, thinking villain who challenges Batman on the body and mind. And Bautista would own it.
Batman’s villains are iconic, not only because of how they look, but because of what they symbolize—trauma, ideology, identity. Paired with the right cast, they’re unforgettable. These fan-favorite choices would inject new life, emotional depth, and hard tension into the screen. And in Reeves’s dark, noir Gotham? They’d flourish.