The Batman: Matt Reeves Thinks a Grounded Version of Mr. Freeze Could Work for the Sequel

The Batman is officially set to hit the big screens in March and we will see not just the Caped Crusader of Gotham City but also the film’s big villain, The Riddler. Different Batman franchises have introduced many villains like The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Bane, and of course, The Joker. But one fantastical villain taps Director Matt Reeves’ interest, Mr. Freeze.

Reeves discussed that he aims to feature more grounded DC Comics characters and villains for The Batman. The director wants a more realistic interpretation of the DC Comics where these characters are originally from.

Speaking to Collider, Reeves discussed how he was drawn to a ‘grounded’ interpretation of Comics characters where they would seem to be likely real. But that doesn’t mean that fantastical characters from the Batverse could not get involved, one particular favorite of his is Mr. Freeze. The director explained:

"In my view, I just feel drawn to finding the grounded version of everything. So to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr. Freeze, that such a great story, right? I think there's actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great. So, I love the fantastical side of Batman, but this iteration, obviously, while being, to me, I think it is very comics faithful, but I don't think that this one is necessarily, it doesn't lean as hard into the fantastical, I guess. 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? And so that's kind of my view, how I see it."

“So, I love the fantastical side of Batman, but this iteration, obviously, while being, to me, I think it is very comics faithful, but I don’t think that this one is necessary, it doesn’t lean as hard into the fantastical, I guess. 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? And so that’s kind of my view, how I see it.” Reeves added

Mr. Freeze's last appearance on a Batman film was on 1997’s Batman and Robin and he was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ever since then, the reboot of Christopher Nolan's Batman did not include any fantastical character and rather focused on realistic villains like Scarecrow, Two-face, The Joker, and Bane.

Seeing Reeve’s interpretation of Mr. Freeze will really be interesting and we would really love another Batman villain who wasn’t getting much exposure from the other previous films. For The Batman, Paul Dano will debut as the highly-intelligent serial killer, The Riddler.

The Batman will premier in theaters on March 4, 2022.

Also Read: Director Matt Reeves Speaks Out About Potential The Batman Sequel