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Matt Reeves’ comments about The Batman – Part II make the theories about one major DC villain look far less likely to come to fruition in its story. The Batman cemented the franchise’s place in DC history by providing a stellar look at the Dark Knight that took the gritty tone audiences have seen in many Batman adaptations and adding its own distinct spin to it, with the world itself and Robert Pattinson’s performance as the iconic DC hero being much praised. As a result, the hype for the movie’s sequel is considerable, especially given The Batman‘s ending.
With this excitement comes a number of theories regarding The Batman 2‘s story and the figures that will appear within. The matter of who will be the villain of The Batman – Part II has been a considerable subject of focused speculation, with some names becoming the main picks for fans when it comes to who they want or expect to appear in the upcoming DC release. However, one of these theories now looks very different based on comments made about the franchise and its impending story.
Clayface Doesn’t Seem Set To Mesh With Matt Reeves’ Perspective On The Batman
In an interview with SFX Magazine (via ComicBookMovie), The Batman director and writer Matt Reeves opened up about what to expect from the DC movie’s sequel. Reeves stated that, “We might push to the edge of fantastical, but we would never go into full fantastical. It’s meant to feel quite grounded.” This appears to greatly reduce the chances of seeing Batman’s antagonistic transforming mudman in the sequel, since some core elements of the character’s story tend to stay inherently within the more fantastical side of the Dark Knight’s overall DC lore.
This – combined with the assurance that The Batman – Part II will “dig into the epic story about deeper corruption” makes the prospect of seeing the focal villain be Clayface seem something of a dire one. Though there are approaches that could craft a more grounded Clayface, it’s hard to see how these could blend into a plot about deeper corruption in Gotham as effectively as other figures could. Indeed, the bonus time that would need to be dedicated to ensuring this version of the figure was clearly not as larger-than-life could actively hamper the movie’s ability to focus on the story at hand.
How The Batman 2 Could Still Feature Clayface As Its Villain
Clayface Could Still Appear In The Franchise With A Specific Approach
Notably, Reeves also mentioned during his interview with SFX Magazine that this approach “doesn’t mean that you won’t see characters that people love. That’s exactly what we want to do. Gentleman Ghost is probably pushed a bit too far for us to be able to find a way to do, but there is a fun way to think about how we would take characters that might push over into a bit of the fantastical and find a way to make sense of that.”
As such, dialing Clayface’s story back a bit – having him not be made out of clay but perhaps instead having the name simply allude to his ability to disguise himself – would veer into territory that could make the character closer to what Matt Reeves ascribes for The Batman series. Indeed, drawing from some of the earliest depictions of the character, which saw actor Basil Karlo simply be able to change his face, and not his entire body, could help set up a grounded depiction.
As it stands, though, this also requires removing or altering a lot of the most interesting qualities of the Clayface villain mantle. With this in mind, the main DC Universe timeline may be a better place for the next live-action depiction of this specific villain, especially since it could use the wealth of lore surrounding the title – and the many figures who have been Clayface throughout the years – in a more detailed and likely less grounded capacity.
The Court Of Owls & Other Batman Villains Appear More Likely Based On Matt Reeves The Batman 2 Comments
Matt Reeves comments about The Batman 2 exploring Gotham’s corruption and going “into places [Bruce Wayne] couldn’t even anticipate in the first one” has raised the prospect that the villain for the sequel is none other than the Court Of Owls. The Court Of Owls – a sinister faction of Gotham’s elite who have existed for essentially as long as the city – are naturally perfectly fitting for the story of The Batman – Part II, and would be a solid choice to ensure the second chapter of the story continues on from the themes and story beats of the first.
Not only would the group be easy to tie into Bruce Wayne’s own life – and potentially give the Wayne family an even more questionable past, depending on how tied to the group they could be made – they would also present the Dark Knight with an opposing force who he has to use his wits against to overcome. However, that doesn’t make The Court Of Owls the only possible choice of villain for The Batman – Part II.
Figures like Hush, Scarecrow, and Hugo Strange – who have more grounded stories and that match a gritty plot exploring corrupt figures and their influence on Gotham – are all viable candidates for the potential antagonist for The Batman 2, and the ending of the original movie supports the idea that more than one villain may indeed feature in the second chapter of the story. Whatever the case, The Batman – Part II is sure to have an engaging and suitably challenging antagonist for the Dark Knight to face, even if the theories about Clayface having this role are looking less likely.
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