The Batman looks to take the comic accuracy and grit of the Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton era of the Caped Crusader and mixes with a grounded realism that made Christopher Nolan’s trilogy so iconic. As a result, fans are able to witness a darker version of Batman learning the ropes while facing villains that still have a degree of flair and camp. But while The Riddler and the Penguin are fantastic starts in terms of villains for this Dark Knight to face, there are even more characters that could be tackled in future iterations, including Mr. Freeze, who deserves a shot at redemption.
In an interview with Collider, Reeves discussed the future of his Batman and how his universe could continue. While Reeves seems more drawn to a grounded take on Batman, he also notes that more outlandish villains could have a place in his version of Gotham City. An example he chose was Mr. Freeze, who was last seen in the less than popular Batman & Robin, where Arnold Schwarzenegger played a campier version of the enemy who had no shortage of ice puns. While it seems like an unlikely choice for Reeves’ grim world, the director explains that there’s a place for him in which the character could work well against Batman.
Reeves explained this thought process by saying, “I think there’s actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great…” As most fans know, Victor Fries is confined to a cryo suit after being altered in an effort to cure his dying wife, Nora, from a degenerative disease. With her in suspended animation and he unable to survive at room temperature, Freeze uses his genius to create a freeze gun and rob from Gotham City to fuel his research. Although the character is known to lean heavily into his icy persona, Freeze’s real goals lie in helping his wife at any cost. It serves as a solid foundation to create a character desperately in need of redemption.
A similar method was used with Two-Face in The Dark Knight. Before that movie, the last time he was seen in a film was when he was played by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever. However, that version of the character acted more like the Joker and was devoid of any tragedy that typically follows Batman’s enemies. In The Dark Knight, the loss of Harvey Dent’s love exasperated his aggressive tactics, and his scared face fractured his mind just enough so that the Joker could easily drive him to kill. What was made was a rage-filled enemy who only relied on chance, making him the Two-Face fans know and love.
Mr. Freeze isn’t a conventional enemy for Batman to face, and having an offensive gimmick like a freeze gun and abilities that can be exploited or used for evil makes him a strange choice to follow up The Batman. But according to Reeves, this makes him the perfect candidate. Reeves elaborates by stating, “But I think to me what would be interesting would be to try and unwind the fantastical and see, well, how could that make sense here?” Essentially, each strange Batman villain becomes more of a challenge in finding the grounded aspect of that character and using it to create a villain that fits. Out of any other villain Batman has encountered, Freeze is the best subject to push the limits of this idea.
At his icy core, Mr. Freeze is a villain who still feels love. While he despises the world around him, his love of Nora drives him to keep fighting. By exploiting this in a film, audiences could sympathize with the character. Furthermore, by having other enemies like the Penguin manipulate his motivations to have him take on Batman, he would push even Bruce to see that not all villains are purely evil.
To see Matt Reeves tackle some of the Dark Knight’s most iconic villains, The Batman hits theaters on March 4.
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