Michael Emerson as The Riddler (Batman 3)
Let's face it: this guy is scary! On Lost, he plays the enigmatic Ben Linus with this callous "I'll use you until you're used up and then throw you away" kind of menace. The way that Heath Ledger re-imagined the Joker from the prankster to a serious psycho is the same way I see Michael changing the image of the Riddler. The riddles are no longer just to fool Batman and keep him guessing, but are instead warnings about how potential victims will die.
Forget Jim Carrey's over-the-top comic version of this character. With his cold, bug-eyed stare and that calm surface that hides some simmering crazy stuff underneath, Emerson could take this otherwise obscure bad guy and make it someone who could carry a movie.
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
(Superman Returns sequel)
Spending seven seasons as this character makes Rosenbaum the obvious choice. Now in his 30's, Rosenbaum would be the perfect age to portray Luthor in the movie. He's also a great actor, and was able to turn Lex into a bad guy we actually didn't want to hate--even after decades of him being nothing but evil in the comic books!
Yes, I know Kevin Spacey is a big-name, award-winning actor while Michael isn't, but Spacey just didn't do anything with the character to make it memorable. He was basically just channeling Gene Hackman's version.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as The Mandarin (Iron Man 2)
All the pre-press for this movie seems to be focusing on Don Cheadle's casting, but let's look at a good villain for this thing. The natural choice for an Iron Man villain is Mandarin, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa would make one scary bad guy.
Tagawa has that smooth, rich voice that could command an army of bad guys (he's done it before in several movies anyway), and he can sneer with the best of them. Add to that the fact that he really is a practicioner of the martial arts, and you can see where he'd add spunk to the fight scenes.
Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader (The Incredible Hulk 2)
Let's face it, no matter who you choose for this part it's going to be hard for them to pull off a two-foot forehead. That being said, let's take for granted the writers of the sequel are going to do something drastically different for this bad guy when he gets screen time.
Let's just say they keep his head at a normal shape but make him super-intelligent and mean. Keeping that in mind, I'm willing to let Tim Blake Nelson keep going with the character he started in The Incredible Hulk. He wasn't menacing by any means, but we've seen where casting a relative unknown has allowed some really great things to happen in the past, so maybe we should give it a shot here as well.
Jack Coleman as Henry Peter Gyrich (The Avengers Movie)
Ok, so he's not technically a super-villain, but Gyrich is a bad guy in any comic fan's mind. He's been a thorn in the Avenger's side since 1977, and if they're going to have Nick Fury protecting them, we have to have his polar opposite in a suit going after them to shut them down. Coleman plays Noah Bennett in Heroes and he's got this bad side to him that makes wearing horn-rimmed glasses tough.
I'm not saying Gyrich would be the main baddie of the film, but he would be that "fly in the ointment" waiting for the Avengers to mess up somewhere so he could disband them. Coleman is an actor who could honestly stare Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury in the eye and not back down. It might make for an explosive confrontation.
Naveen Andrews as Kraven the Hunter (Spider-Man 4)
I know everyone is expecting the Lizard to show up in the fourth film (and he probably will), but think about how cool it would be to see Kraven in action. Spider-Man has to fight for his life among the New York skyscrapers with an updated version of Kraven stalking him, shooting at him, and ultimately facing him down in Central Park. Hey, it couldn't be worse than the construction site Sandman showdown!
And to complete the Spider-Man 4 set...
Dermot Mulroney as Curt Connors/The Lizard (Spider-Man 4)
Ok, I understand that we had a good look at Doctor Connors in Spider-Man 3 and it seems the slot is already filled, but let's be honest: we need someone younger and more in shape. Mulroney has spent years giving us the "aloof" look in every part he's played.
Connors is supposed to be this tragic figure who has a wife and child that he cares deeply about.
Mulroney would be easier to sympathize with as he struggles to keep himself from changing around his family. And we know the Lizard is going to be CGI anyway, so he won't have to do a lot in that respect other than lend his voice to the role.I just hope they keep the villains down to just 2 in the next movie. I'd love to see more of them come to life, but it seems like that would be far too much going on at one time. It would stretch the storyline thin.
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