Allow him to break the ice. This cool new piece of fan art depicts Kingsman: The Secret Service and 1917 star Mark Strong as a live-action version of the chilling Batman villain, Victor Fries a.k.a. Mr. Freeze.
The artist William Gray has chosen Strong as a potential casting for a sequel to The Batman and has given the actor the crystalized, steel-blue skin and overly sized red goggles that will quickly be familiar to any fans of the DC supervillain. Mark Strong is no stranger to comic book movie roles, having previously starred in the likes of Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service and the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, as well as Kick Ass, and the DC movies Green Lantern, and last year's Shazam!.
Mark Strong is also very adept at playing the villain, having done so in several of those comic book movies that were just mentioned, as well as the likes of the Robert Downey Jr. led Sherlock Holmes and the sci-fi adventure John Carter. He is an actor of great talent, who could easily provide the gravitas and intensity necessary to make the tragic-yet-silly Batman villain a dramatic success. Plus, he is already bald, so there will be no need for a glaringly obvious bald-cap, or for Strong to struggle with any follicle-related vanity.
The modern take on Mr. Freeze cuts a tragic figure, with Victor Fries the victim of his own hubris, who (as is so often the case with Batman villains} suffers a terrible accent while trying to save the life of his wife, Nora. The accident results in Fries having to wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive, with his criminal deeds all carried out in the name of love.
Despite his inherent comic book goofiness, the much-celebrated Batman: The Animated Series managed to strike the right balance, depicting Freeze as melancholy, even unnerving presence, whilst still maintaining his giant ice-shooting raygun. The last (and only) time the character was seen on the big screen was in Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin, where he was played by the Austrian Oak Arnold Schwarzenegger and spent more time spouting puns than tormenting the Dark Knight. So, whatever they decide to do with the character, there is really no direction to go but up.
Though there are currently very few specific details regarding the plot of The Batman, Matt Reeves revealed a few years ago that the movie will be a noir-driven story that highlights Bruce Wayne's detective skills, which have rarely been featured in past movies. What we do know about the story so far is that The Batman will take place early into the eponymous protagonist's crime-fighting career. It's also been strongly indicated that the story is inspired by the fan-favorite graphic novel The Long Halloween, which saw Batman tracking down a serial killer and running into many of his iconic adversaries along the way.
In addition to Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, the rest of cast includes the likes of Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson and Jeffery Wright as Commissioner Gordon. The Batman is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2021. This comes to us from willgray_art.