Movies

The Batman movie casts Paul Dano as The Riddler


It’s been a busy week or so in Gotham City. Whether it was Zoe Kravitz’s appointment as Selina Kyle or Jonah Hill’s departure from the role of the Riddler, there’s been plenty of villainous casting activity afoot. But The Batman movie’s impressive cast continues to take shape, with Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Prisoners, Okja and plenty of others) now taking on the role of the Riddler. Variety was the first to report the news that Dano was in talks for the deal, with Warner Bros later confirming the casting.

Dano is an interesting choice for the legendary Batman villain. The actor is known for taking on quirky and challenging roles, and the Riddler is a villain with tremendous untapped screen potential.

While the character has been an irregular presence in Batman comics since 1948, the prevailing pop culture impression of the character remains (at best) Frank Gorshin’s iconic portrayal from the 1966 Batman TV series or (at worst) Jim Carrey’s grating performance in 1995’s Batman Forever. The Riddler has also seen live-action screen time as played by John Astin (in one adventure from the 1966 TV series) and Cory Michael Smith on the Gotham TV series.

The untapped potential of the Riddler was recently addressed in high profile Batman stories like Zero Year by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, as well as a DC Comics Year of the Villain special by Mark Russell and Scott Godlewski, which saw the Riddler advised to ditch his predictable gimmick in order to evolve as a villain. The character has also recently been the focus of Batman Universe by Brian Michael Bendis and Nick Derrington. Both have shown the possibilities inherent in taking a well known but generally secondary Batman villain out of his comfort zone.

It’s unknown what direction Matt Reeves has in mind for the character in The Batman, but the fact that they’re apparently going with the character’s Edward Nashton alias, as opposed to the original (and on-the-nose) Edward Nygma, might be a positive sign.

The Batman is said to focus on a case early in the Dark Knight’s career, and the official addition of the Riddler gives us two confirmed villains (alongside Kravitz’s Catwoman) who’ll be going up against Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader. We’re still waiting on confirmation that the Penguin is also in the film. Expect more baddies to join the party before The Batman opens on 25 June 2021.

Check out our rundown of every upcoming comic-book movie.



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