Jonah Hill, all-round funny man, may be taking on the role as the villain Matt Reeves’ The Batman. It has also been claimed Jeffrey Wight may be in talks to play Commissioner Gordon, making him the first black Commissioner in the live action franchise. But who could Jonah Hill play in the new film?
Who could Jonah Hill play in the new The Batman film?
Variety reports Jonah Hill is in talks to become the villain of the latest Batman film, The Batman, while Jeffrey Wright has also discussed taking on the role of Commissioner Gordon.
Insiders have suggested filming for this may begin at the end of the year, meaning they will need to get actors to sign on the dotted line over the next couple of months.
In terms of possible villains for Hill, with Joaquin Phoenix set to bring the Joker to the big screen in the latest DC Comics series, it seems unlikely they would revive this character for anyone else so soon.
So far in the various film incarnations of Batman we have seen a whole host of portrayals, with Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Bane, Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze, Scarecrow, Harley Quinn and Talia al Ghul all brought to life by famous actors.
Not to mention the Joker himself, who has been portrayed by stars including Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Mark Hamill, who voiced the character in animation and video games for decades.
But sources have revealed Hill, if he takes on the role, will take on the parts of either Riddler or Penguin, leading him to follow in the footsteps of Jim Carrey or Danny DeVito.
Jonah Hill certainly has a similar comedic style to Danny DeVito’s Penguin, but he may relish the opportunity to sport some incredible lycra a la Jim Carrey.
These two characters have also recently been portrayed in TV series Gotham, with Penguin played as a crime lord by Robin Lord Taylor, while Cory Michael Smith played a forensic scientist struggling with schizophrenia as the Riddler.
If these characters do not work out, however, there is a whole host of options for Hill, with Batman fighting more than 100 villains in his time.
There is the possibility of Professor Hugo Strange, a scientist who uses his technological wizardry to wreak havoc and is one of the first super villains to discover Batman’s true identity.
While Hill has the potential to take on the mantle of one of the main crime bosses in Gotham, such as Carmine Falcone, who is a Mafia chief based on the Corleone family of The Godfather.
If Hill wants to perhaps flex his muscles following his role in Netflix’s Maniac, and try for a villain who is a somewhat, disturbed, there is Mad Hatter, a supervillain who uses mind-controlling devises to manipulate his victims.
There is also Victor Zsasz, a sadistic serial killer who carves a tally mark on his victims, however Chris Messina is set to portray him in the DCEU film Birds of Prey, so this role may already have been taken.
Similarly to Zsasz is Black Mask, who would be a perfect fit for Hill, except he is about to be played by Ewan McGregor in the DCEU’s Birds of Prey.
One villain who is set to be seen in the DCEU, but was played by Liam Neeson in The Dark Knight trilogy, is Ra’s Al Ghul, the leader of the League of Assassins and her of the Lazarus Pit, a mythical pool used to prolong his life.
He has honed his combat skills for centuries and can command a whole host of assassins, meaning his presence in the film could lead to a lot of epic fights.
At present, fans will just have to wait and see for whether Hill will take on the role – and what that role might be.
There have not been any reports of anyone else taking on the villain role – but producers will need to get their skates on to sign someone quickly.
The Batman is expected for release in 2021