Talk of the Town: Tom Hardy in Batman 3
Word has come down that Tom Hardy will be appearing in the upcoming Batman 3. While we haven’t been given a role, or for that matter much about the movie, that hasn’t stopped the internet from being ablaze with fan speculation on what roles he could possibly play in the 3rd part of the Nolanverse.
We won’t lie, we’re just like everyone else on the internet. We’re excited for what Tom Hardy could bring to the franchise, and with a character such as Batman with a vast and deep catalog of characters to draw from the speculation is endless, but here are just a few of the options we could see.
1) No one says that Tom Hardy has to necessarily play a villain in the upcoming film. With the death of Harvey Dent at the end of The Dark Knight, Gotham City once again finds itself without a District Attorney. After the death of the last two District Attorneys, it would take some real balls to step into the role. Enter Tom Hardy. While it wouldn’t be a major role, it could serve to balance the scale of justice now that The Batman is wanted by the law.
2) With that said, it is more than likely that Tom Hardy will take up the mantle of one of Batman’s rogues.  Since the end of The Dark Knight, most fans have been clamoring for the appearance of one Mr. Edward Nigma better known to the world as The Riddler. If they follow his recent stint in the comic book he would make a most interesting foe for the Dark Knight. And while thematically it makes sense to go with The Riddler, I don’t feel that Tom Hardy fits the mold of the character well. Though personally, I would love to see The Riddler taken serious in one of these films. He is an awesome villain.
3) My first pick based on appearance alone would be for one Dr. Thomas Elliot also known as Hush. While opinions on the quality of the initial story may vary, and even the opinion on the character itself, there is no denying that when it comes to foes that work well in the universe that Nolan has crafted there are few better suited. There will have to be modifications to the character and his tale of course (since we kind of have an idea of Bruce’s childhood from Batman Begins), but I trust in Nolan enough to know that if he wanted to tackle this character he would do him justice. Also this decision was aided in the fact that Hardy and Bale have similar builds and appearances, which is something that has been key to Hush’s story recently.
4) This is an interesting character choice as I believe he can work well in the film, but he couldn’t work alone. I am of course speaking of the Black Mask who has gained notoriety in the Batverse since the conclusion of the WarGames storyline a few years ago. Between the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, there has to be an ever expanding gulf in the ranks of organized crime in Gotham. Enter The Black Mask who sees the vacuum of power and decides to fill it himself in the most ruthless of manners. He could hire some heavy hitters like Bane or Deadshot to deal with Gotham’s Bat problem as he works on his new domain.
(Editor’s Note: For those of you who are unfamiliar with the character of The Black Mask do NOT watch Batman: Under The Red Hood, which makes him look like a joke. Check-out The Batman episode: The Breakout from season 4, episode 5. This is of course assuming you don’t want to read the comics)
5) And our final pick is probably the one most out of left-field (even more so than replacement District Attorney), and that would be for Tom Hardy to play a simple gangster in the movie. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have done a terrific job of setting up the fact that the mob/gangsters of Gotham are serious business. Since his role in Batman Begins though, we have heard very little from the Falcone family. Perhaps it is time for a new head of the family. Enter Tom Hardy. He doesn’t need to play any particular member of the Falcone clan, but having the family gain more power in the 3rd film would help to elevate the status of organized crime in the Nolanverse.
Thank you for entertaining my mindless speculation. Only thing that’s left to do is wait for the big reveal! Or hit up the comments section below with your own speculation!
I don’t want to bother blogging about this myself, but I’ll throw down my opinion here:
The Dark Knight ended with Batman as an outcast, as a pariah, as an enemy of Gotham. Therefore I think it’s safe to assume thematically that the movie will deal with the loneliness and darkness Batman would have to overcome to truly become Gotham’s greatest protector. Just like Batman Begins ended with the question “what have you created?” and TDK responded with villains like The Joker, I believe that Batman 3 will respond to Batman’s struggle to be the hero Gotham needs and deserves.
Therefore I think the Riddler is out. I love the Riddler and I can totally see him fitting in the Nolanverse, but I feel like the Riddler is the kind of person who brings Batman down from on high, and Batman is currently in a very low place. I suppose if the Riddler has solidified himself as the new “Bruce Wayne” of Gotham while Batman has been working underground then it could maybe work, complicating Bruce’s ability to return to hero with his mind games. But still, I have trouble believing that the Riddler would fit thematically at this time.
Hush I think is definitely out. Hush always felt canned and forced until Paul Dini started writing him. He’s never really worked as an A-List Batman villain, even now, and requires a LOT of exposition and back-story to even make sense as a character. Again I suppose I should never say never, because Tommy Elliot and Hush COULD in a way replace Bruce Wayne and Batman, further complicating Batman’s return to grace, but I just don’t see it.
My choice has always been The Black Mask. I believe that the villains in Batman 3 should be The Black Mask, the mob (as always) and Catwoman. I believe those characters all make a great deal of sense in Nolan’s universe. Also, both the Black Mask and Catwoman both visually evoke the look of Batman. The idea of villainous or morally gray characters as different shades of the Dark Knight would be intriguing. The Black Mask fits with the mob, Catwoman fits due to lack of a female presence.
Some people say Chris Nolan can’t work with women. While his track record seems to support that, I would hope that he would try to improve this. I could see him working with Catwoman just to prove that he CAN do it, and I really think he should.
So that’s my call, Black Mask and Catwoman, two dark warriors, one representing good, the other representing evil, with Catwoman caught in the middle. Who would she eventually ally with? Of course also including the mob, and a cameo by Scarecrow as always. 🙂
Other things I could imagine or would like to see include:
Tom Hardy as Killer Croc to parallel Batman’s status as an outcast.
Two Face death was a cover up.
Poison Ivy in some capacity.
etc.
Cool Beans.
I guess I always saw the Riddler working in a different manner. Instead of Batman fighting known criminals with the aide of the cops, he is being pursued by the cops who has hired this “detective” (if they go with the current comics Riddler) who is using his own pull with the cops to do dastardly deeds without them knowing. Then the movie would be about Batman exposing the Riddler before its too late.
I think thematically it could work for the city as Gotham that just because a man wears a mask doesn’t mean he is lying to you. granted, it would be dressed up and worded much nicer.
I kind of agree with you on Hush, but you don’t really need to go the comic book route. He doesn’t need to be a child-hood friend of Bruce, he could be a friend he met while at college (since Begins hinted that he was there for a bit before leaving) and maybe he had a troubled relationship with his parents and saw the freedom granted to Bruce because of his parents’ death and kills them off. Yes, it would be harder to make a personal grudge against Bruce, but I’m sure they could find an angle ifneed be.
I whole heartedly agree with you on Catwoman. Honestly after the events of The Dark Knight, I find that the only two female leads in this movie have to be either Catwoman (someone who is able to touch Bruce/Batman in both of their guises) or Talia (who seeks her father). I feel any other female lead especially if just some trashy chick for Bruce to hook up with would only tarnish what happened to Rachel.
Black Mask is an interesting choice as well, I like the character well enough, but really don’t think he alone could carry a movie. And even with the inclusion of Catwoman, you don’t really have a central baddie, a big threat. I guess he could be set up as a combination of Ra’s and Falcone from the first movie. Not a skilled fighter, but has a giant organization behind him, which Batman has to take down systematically.
I don’t think Killer Croc nor Poison Ivy work in Nolanverse. Same as Mr. Freeze