It was recently announced that Zack Snyder wants to include a love interest for Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Batman vs Superman film. Ben Affleck has already been cast as the new Batman but all we can do is speculate about who will be playing his lady. Here are some ideas I had on who it could be. Special thanks to Paul C. for his contributions!
New Characters
These are characters that have appeared in other Batman mediums besides live-actions films and could easily be translated into this film.
Mercy Graves
The casting call for the love interest in Man of Steel 2 asked for a taller woman in her late 20′s who contains physicality which immediately brought me to the character of Luthor’s bodyguard Mercy Graves. Graves was created for the animated series of the titular superhero (this time Superman) and was so popular that she crossed into the comic-book world to become a staple of that title. I believe she’s a candidate to be the love interest in the sequel solely because the inclusion of Lex Luthor could mean she’s already involved and it would be a subtle way to put our heroes together. If they do decide to cast Mercy Graves I would love to see Abbie Cornish in the role. (By Paul C.)
Andrea Beaumont
Andrea Beaumont is a character from the animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm who Bruce Wayne is willing to give up Batman for to marry until she is revealed to be the villain Phantasm. It’d be fun to have a bad-ass and deceptive character for Batman’s love interest and I think Jessica Chastain would be perfect for this role, especially since she normally plays the good girl.
Lorna Shore
Lorna Shore doesn’t have much of a background in the comics, which would allow a lot of creative liberty for her character in the film. She is a museum curator with whom Bruce has a relationship. It’s an innocent enough job for a character who will probably not have much to do in the film. If they’re looking for a beautiful and sophisticated lady for Lorna Shore, I suggest Gabrielle Union.
Vesper Fairchild
TV and radio personality Vesper Fairchild would be a good choice for Batman’s love interest in this film because her demise is ultimately due to Lex Luthor. This would most certainly connect Batman to Metropolis. If they did write Vesper into the film, I would like to see her played by Michelle Monaghan.
Silver St. Cloud
Silver is another of Gotham’s social elite who dates Bruce Wayne and after discovering his secret identity leaves Gotham. The rest of her story is dramatic enough for the big screen but perhaps too much story for this film. Despite that, she would be a good character choice for a one-film appearance. My choice for Silver St. Cloud would be Ali Larter.
The Already Been Done Characters
These are characters that have already shown up in live-action Batman films but may be reinterpreted in the upcoming ones.
Vicki Vale
Kim Basinger played journalist Vicki Vale in the first Batman movie back in 1989. I think enough time has passed to reinvent her on screen and I also think that she would be a good character for such an inevitably small roll. She’s not a superhero or villain with a complex background and her role as a reporter would be easy enough to work into the film. Then again, they already have Lois Lane sniffing around for stories so they may decide against having two lady journalists. If they do go with Vale, I’d love to see Rosamund Pike in the role.
Julie Madison
Julie Madison made a small appearance (played by Elle Macpherson) in 1997′s Batman & Robin. She was Batman’s first significant love interest in the comics and has gone from socialite damsel-in-distress to hardworking law student. While she’d be a simple and easy character to add to the story, I wouldn’t be surprised if creators decided not to use her to further distance themselves from the disaster that was Batman & Robin. If they did go with Julie, my vote would be for Sarah Shahi.
Selina Kyle
It’s very unlikely that Catwoman would show up in this movie both because of her complex relationship with Batman that would need more than a crossover film to develop and the fact that she was so recently portrayed by Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises. But since she is Bruce’s #1 love interest I had to include her on this list. If they do decide to bring her back in the future, they should definitely cast Eva Green in the role.
Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul is equally unlikely to be in the Batman vs. Superman film for the same reasons as Selina Kyle. That being said, her history would make her an interesting choice. Marion Cotillard played Talia in The Dark Knight Rises but if she is recast for a future film my vote goes to Olga Kurylenko.
The Other Options
A Made Up Character
Another option for the writers of the Batman Superman movie is to create a new character altogether. This would work in their favor because they wouldn’t have to deal with disgruntled fan-boys angry at a comic book character’s film interpretation. Christopher Nolan did this with Rachel Dawes in his Batman trilogy and it worked out just fine.
No Love Interest At All
Another option for a love interest in the Batman/Superman movie is.. well.. how about nobody? Seriously, this is a sequel that’s not only acting as a continuation of the characters from Man of Steel but as an introduction to an entirely new franchise and the reboot of DC’s most popular character. If you look at past superhero movies you’ll notice that most of the romances are either too small for us to care or are just shooed in for a subplot to bring in a new demographic. Very few of them are so organic and real that we honestly care about both sides equally (Pepper and Tony stand out as the strongest in this example and they had three movies to work on their romance. This “sequel” to Man of Steel is already supposed to further the relationship of Clark and Lois, flesh out Superman himself, establish a villain (or two), launch a brand new version of Batman, create the universe in which DC prepares to launch the Justice League franchise and work in the remainder of the side characters AND THEN add a romantic subplot on top of that? If you ask me that’s a lot to put on one plate for a movie that already has mile high expectations and the best way to keep it from feeling bloated and incoherent would be to drop the love interest and focus on the heroes we do know. Clark, Bruce, Lois and our villain should be the ones in the forefront and I would much rather they hold off on the love interest until after Bruce Wayne was established. They’ve already announced that they’re giving Bruce a love interest but who knows, maybe they’ll change their minds. (By Paul C.)
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