Paul Dano was destined to play the Riddler. This week, filmgoers worldwide will be watching Dano portraying the iconic supervillain in The Batman, the new film by director and co-writer Matt Reeves. Because the film is set in a standalone universe, it meant recasting every DC character included in the story. After testing different actors, Reeves knew he found the Bruce Wayne he was looking for when Robert Pattinson suited up to read for the role.
Another crucial casting for the film is the Riddler, as he serves as the movie's primary antagonist. It was not as much of a process to track down The Batman's Riddler, however, as Reeves already had Dano in mind. As the director recently explained to The Hollywood Reporter, Reeves was looking to cast Dano as the Riddler based on his performance as musician Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy. That film showcased Dano portraying Wilson's struggles with mental illness, and Reeves felt that the actor had the right combination of oddness and accessibility to add the right amount of depth to the character.
“That character, he’s caught up in his artistry and he struggles to communicate with those around him. That was spiritually connected to the idea of this isolation that the Riddler felt. The Riddler is a product of our time, the way that people become isolated online and retreat to mental activities that substitute for not having contact. Paul is just off center in a way that makes him very relatable. I didn’t want this character to be a villain. Even in his darkness, I wanted to see that humanity.”
Dano says he has typically avoided comic book movies over the years. That's not to say he was outright turning down offers, but he had never gone out of his way to pursue any of those kinds of movies, either. When he was given the script for The Batman with consideration in mind for him to be the Riddler, Dano was swayed by the quality of the story and promptly signed on. Many early reviews have praised Dano's portrayal, so it seems like all is working out well with the casting.
The Batman Meets His Match With Paul Dano's Riddler
The Riddler is the main villain of The Batman, which is set about two years into Bruce Wayne's new life of fighting crime in Gotham City. He will be putting Batman to the test with a series of killings that includes puzzles at the crime scenes for the superhero to solve. Fooling "the Batman" would be the Riddler's most significant accomplishment, turning the story into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Speaking of which, Zoe Kravitz also stars in the film as Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. The film also stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Matt Reeves directs using a screenplay co-written with Peter Craig.
The Batman releases in U.S. theaters on March 4, 2022.