If Oscar Isaac joins the cast of The Batman, there are a number of roles he would be perfect for. It's rumored that the Golden Globe-nominated actor has met with the producers of the next film about the Dark Knight about an undisclosed role. Casting Isaac would be a coup for The Batman, with multiple complex characters the acclaimed actor could potentially embody.
Director Matt Reeves (War For The Planet Of The Apes) is developing The Batman, which is believed to be a film noir detective story about a younger version of the Caped Crusader, possibly a 15-20 years-younger version of the Batman Ben Affleck has played in the DCEU. Some fans speculated Isaac may even be cast as the younger Batman, but the Guatemalan-born actor is already 39, which makes him only seven years younger than Affleck himself. It's more likely Isaac is being eyed for a different part altogether. Little is known about Reeves' script and which characters he is utilizing, although some buzz has indicated the villain may be the Penguin (a role Isaac could also play).
Related: Recasting A Younger Batman For The Solo Movie
Though Isaac has the acting chops to play a number of notable Bat characters, getting to play a villain is usually the big draw for A-list actors joining a Batman movie, and this could be the type of role Isaac has discussed with Warner Bros. While he's probably best known worldwide as Poe Dameron, the Resistance's hotshot top gun in the current Star Wars trilogy, Isaac has enjoyed a varied and distinguished acting career. He's played a bone-chilling villain many times in multiple genres; he was King John in Robin Hood, Kane in Annihilation, and Nathan Bateman in Ex Machina. Indeed, Isaac is also no stranger to comic book film villains since he infamously portrayed the titular mutant Big Bad in X-Men: Apocalypse.
If Reeves' film is part of the DCEU, and assuming that the actors already in key supporting roles, like J.K. Simmons as Jim Gordon and Jeremy Irons as Alfred, will remain in The Batman, here then are six roles Oscar Isaac would be amazing as if he joins the cast.
Harvey Dent/Two-Face
Harvey Dent is one of Batman's most tragic villains. The heroic former District Attorney of Gotham City, Dent is driven insane when the left half of his face is monstrously scarred, turning him into Two-Face. Dent has already been prominently featured in previous films: a cartoonish Two-Face was played by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever, while Aaron Eckhart's tragic portrayal was a key figure in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
If The Batman is a DCEU prequel, it could again depict the crusading D.A.'s fall from grace and descent into madness, likely with an intriguing new twist. There's no doubt Oscar Isaac would be a dynamic Harvey Dent - he's played conflicted public figure before in HBO's Show Me A Hero - and would nail the character's initial heroism before Dent's disfigurement drives him into a twisted malevolence. Isaac would also be the second person of color to play the role; Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, though Williams didn't get to portray the character's villainous half in Joel Schumacher's campy sequel.
Related: Why Batman Movies Keep Telling The Same Stories
Professor Hugo Strange
One of Batman's oldest comic book foes, Professor Hugo Strange is an insane criminal scientist who usually experiments in creating monsters. Strange is also a psychologist who not only deduces Batman's secret identity, he also harbors the desire to replace and become Batman. Although Hugo has never made the leap into a Batman movie, the villain finally made his live-action debut in the Gotham TV series where he was played by B.D. Wong.
If he were cast in the role, Oscar Isaac would not only take the twisted Hugo Strange to the next level, but Strange's desire to also be Batman could play into the rumors of Isaac being cast as Batman; it means Isaac may also wear a Batsuit to falsely assume the identity of the Dark Knight.
Harvey Bullock
Moving on to more heroic supporting characters, playing Detective Harvey Bullock would be a different challenge altogether for Oscar Isaac. While he's usually depicted in the comics as slovenly, Bullock is actually one of Commissioner Gordon's best cops and he's an ally of Batman in the Gotham Police Department. Detective Bullock has never appeared in a Batman film but he's been a main character in Gotham since the beginning, where he's played by Donal Logue. It would be novel to see Isaac put on a few pounds and be a good cop backing up Batman and Gordon, plus it would let Isaac provide a bit of comic relief as well.
Page 2 of 2: More Batman Characters Oscar Isaac Could Play
Hush
A recent fan-favorite villain who has yet to debut on the big screen, Hush would be an epic role for Isaac. Hush is Dr. Tommy Elliott, a talented surgeon, millionaire, and Bruce Wayne's childhood best friend. The product of an abusive childhood, Elliott once attempted to kill his parents, only to have Bruce's father Dr. Thomas Wayne save his mother's life. The insane boy blamed Bruce and eventually grew up to be a twisted adversary for Batman since he knows Wayne is the Dark Knight. A teenage version of Tommy Elliott appeared in Gotham, but the villain as comic fans know him best has yet to be seen in live-action.
Related: The Batman Makes The Most Sense As Ben Affleck's Origin Story
With physical and mental abilities comparable to Batman, Hush is a rogue that fans are dying to see in a movie. Isaac would absolutely nail Tommy Elliott's genius and frightening malevolence if this is what Reeves had in mind.
Man-Bat
Man-Bat is another rogue waiting to finally debut on the big screen. Dr. Kirk Langstrom is a zoologist who experimented on a formula to give humans sonar as a cure for deafness, but his serum turned him into a humanoid bat creature. A monstrous mirror image of Batman, Langstrom is a tragic villain whom Oscar Isaac could imbue with genuine pathos and humanity. Man-Bat would also give The Batman a body horror element never seen in a Batman movie before. Man-Bat was also the first super villain the Dark Knight fought in "On Leathery Wings", the pilot episode of the classic Batman: The Animated Series, so he would be a fitting villain for Matt Reeves' younger Caped Crusader to face.
Ra's Al-Ghul
It would take an amazing actor to follow in the iconic footsteps of Liam Neeson as Ra's al Ghul but Oscar Isaac would be more than up for the challenge. The Demon's Head is one of Batman's greatest foes; he's an immortal warrior with world-altering ambitions who also commands the deadly League of Assassins (or League of Shadows, as they're known in The Dark Knight Trilogy). In Christopher Nolan's universe, Ra's was also Bruce Wayne's mentor.
The main knock fans have against Neeson's portrayal is that he's an Irishman playing a Middle Eastern villain; Isaac's South American heritage would at least let the character be played by a person of color, even if it would need a twist on origin. Isaac would certainly have no problems portraying Ra's genius, wisdom, sheer malevolence, but also his sense of fairness and justice. The Demon is a complex adversary who is noble in his own way; all traits Oscar Isaac would nail if he were cast in the role.
Next: The Batman Theory: Ben Affleck Still Stars... As The Narrator
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2Psjo72
No comments:
Post a Comment