The Dark Knight Rises Black Mask

[Killing Joke926]

*Hurm* How about Joaquin Phoenix, Viggo Mortensen, or John C. McGinley?

 

[COMPO]

aww Black Mask calling Batman betty lmao that would be awesome... rather it be GLORIA tho lol

 

[Monkey Dome]

I've never really liked Sionis' background of being a businessman who has a hate-on for Wayne. But if Nolan & Co. reworked the origin, Black Mask would be a much better villain than the Riddler. It'd essentially be combining Falcone from BB and the Joker--take it back to the classic "Batman Vs. the Mob" but with a bit of "This city deserves a better class of criminal. And I'm going to give it to 'em!" thrown in.

 

[ND Irish]

for those who dont know, apparently Phoenix is retiring after his latest movie. This sucks, I really would have liked to see Phoenix as Black mask

 

[gwynplaine]

for those who dont know, apparently Phoenix is retiring after his latest movie. This sucks, I really would have liked to see Phoenix as Black mask

It does suck indeed.

 

[ronny]

But how deep a character is Black Mask? He always seemed like a very poor villain to me. It would be a shame to waste a good actor on a mediocre character.

 

[ND Irish]

but would an amazing actor make an average character better? Hmm think about it...

 

[DarkReflections]

His face isn't scared hence the word MASK. He wears a mask carved out of his mothers casket.

sorry for nitpicking, but it was his father's casket. it says so in batman #518.

 

[ThePoisonPuppet]

But how deep a character is Black Mask? He always seemed like a very poor villain to me. It would be a shame to waste a good actor on a mediocre character.

I think he is someone who makes a moderate comic book villain but would translate much better to the big screen. In a comic universe filled with thousands of costumed villains with intricate MOs, someone who simply puts on a black mask and kills and tortures people because mommy didn't love him enough does not stand out too well.

However, the beauty with him is, he is not a very well known villain, so he can be played with a little more, and while in a comic, his sadism doesn't quite stand out, in the movie, his victim's screams and anguish hit us a little more at the human level. Also since we have not seen some of the more intricate (but still too unrealistic to use) villains in the movies, he does not have to compete with them quite as much. If anything his grittier realism makes him all the better to use.

I would never make him the only villain, but with others to back him up, he could work very well.

 

[gwynplaine]

but would an amazing actor make an average character better? Hmm think about it...

Good point, an example is Gary Oldman in "the professional" (or any movie he is in actuallyt

 

[sabetoonth]

for casting i say james remar
he vioced him in the batman and i thnk he could give it a good run

and here come the the chumks of brimstone rain

 

[thedrizzle59]

if anyone hasn't seen the pheonix retiring video from E! i would recommend seeing it, as it shows how much of a mistake casting him as black mask would be. He will probably die of drug or alcohol abuse before he finished anyway. and im not joking!

 

[ND Irish]

^ low.

 

[Laderlappen]

Pheonix retiring video from E! proves that he cant play a batman character? Huh?

 

[[A]]

Josh Brolin or Clive Owen are my choices.

I kinda like your choices.

 

[thedrizzle59]

no the video just proves that the guy is obviously on drugs or something else and isnt stable enough to play any character let alone a serious take on a batman villain. Im a fan of pheonix's work, but judging from that video i can see he needs a lot of time off to recover from whatever's wrong with him!

and don't get mad at me for pointing out the obvious!

 

[Laderlappen]

I've never seen it and aI just thought it was the strangest statement.

 

[gwynplaine]

Roman is an eastern european first name, maybe he could be related to the chechen, a cousin or something.

 

[Killing Joke926]

Roman is an eastern european first name, maybe he could be related to the chechen, a cousin or something.

Not sure if that'd work or not; Chechen is actually a Russian.

 

[gwynplaine]

Not sure if that'd work or not; Chechen is actually a Russian.

Good point.

 

[ronny]

Personally I think that if they include Black Mask they need a flashback to Wayne's past. Have Bruce, Roman and Tommy Elliot as childhood friends so that it's all a little more credible.

 

[Ronny Shade]

I don't think that's necessary. There are ways to establish history between characters without flashbacks, which are usually more effective anyway.

 

[ND Irish]

yea maybe instead of flashback have them talk / reminisce about how they knew each other & whats changed since

 

[Ronny Shade]

It can be done with one or two lines. a la Han and Lando in ESB.

 

[ronny]

As long as they take the time to mention Elliot and Sionis at some point we should be good. I just wish they did something similar already. I hate it when childhood friends spring up from nowhere, with no prior clue that they even existed.
You can set up both Black Mask and Hush without much difficuty I think.
As for actually casting him and how he could work in a film.
I think that he should not be the central focus but rather a distraction. Whilst Bruce is fighting Riddler he doesn't notice his old friend Roman slipping further into insanity until Lucius Fox is kidnapped and held for ransom.
You can involve Mr. Earle too.