It’s been a long time since we saw Riddler in a live-action movie, with Jim Carrey previously bringing the character to life in 1995 Batman forever. Well, anyone who has seen their trailers Batman he knows it PrisonersPaul Dano will play a very different version of Riddler in Matt Reeves’s film. First, this treatment of Caped Crusader’s opponent will not be wearing his traditional green t-shirts, but something more homely that Dano found to be intense.
In a recent interview, Paul Dano talked about how much he likes this Batman it is also “grounded and large”. In his case, the former is covered by Matt Reeves based in part on Riddler in The Zodiac Killer, while the latter of course comes with a draw from the original Batman material, as well as Dano letting his “imagination react to the script” . This balance is also represented through Riddler’s clothes, with the actor saying Empire:
The suit was very intense. I think the potential DIY element you’re talking about was actually more scary to me than the more sophisticated or complex designs we could play with. I found that working with the costume was very strong. When you put something like this, there is a way to let it talk to you and say something to your body. There is a way to let it have its own life.
Usually when Ridler appears in a DC Comics work, he either wears a striking costume or a bold suit, with a hat adorned with question marks often over his head and sometimes a domino mask on his face. For Batman, Paul Dano’s Edward Nashton wore instead what fans discovered last year was a mask of extreme cold US weather and a green jacket that could also be of military origin. Drop Nashton glasses and the whole set is quite disturbing.
While this look may not be true to the way Riddler is traditionally portrayed, Paul Dano felt he did a better job of making the character look scary. Similar to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Batman seems to take place in a more “realistic” world, so running a serial killer Ridler hitting select citizens of Gotham City in a green suit may not fit the aesthetics of the film. That being said, if Riddler succeeds Batman alive and coming back for a sequel, maybe we could see him wearing a more loyal costume to honor the next chapter of his journey with the supervillain.
Of course, Ridler will not be the only bad guy out there Batman. Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot, also known as The Penguin, will compete for the title and John Turturro will appear as the mastermind of the Carmine Falcone crime. Other cast members of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne include Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright’s James Gordon, Andy Serkis’s Alfred Pennyworth and Peter Sarsgaard’s Gil Colson, among others. In addition to directing the film, Matt Reeves also worked on the screenplay with Mattson Tomlin and Peter Craig.
Batman is coming out in theaters on March 4, 2022. We here at CinemaBlend will keep you posted for more updates on it and other upcoming DC Comics movies, such as The lightning, which will include versions of The Dark Knight by Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton.
