Leaked promo art from The Batman has fans stoked to see Paul Dano's dark new take on the Riddler. Recently, images said to be from a tie-in calendar for the movie have begun circulating on social media, providing some new promo images for the movie along with a rather awesome new poster. What's captured the attention of thousands of fans is the new peek at the Riddler's mask design, which is certainly far unlike most other incarnations of the classic supervillain.

Many fans see some clear similarities with the new look for Riddler and the Zodiac Killer, the real-life serial killer who was never caught. One fan tweeted. "The Zodiac Killer is clearly a huge inspiration for the design of the Riddler."

"The Zodiac Killer vibes Riddler is giving off in Matt Reeves' The Batman is the exact reason why I know he's going to blow our minds," posted another fan.

Emphasizing their excitement with all caps, another fan said, "IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS PAUL DANO'S RIDDLER DESIGN SO FAR IS SICK AF AND HES SUPPOSE TO BE BASED ON THE ZODIAC KILLER AND HE ACTUALLY LOOKS MENACING AND SCARY AF."

"I have no issue with the Riddler's new look in The Batman 2022," says someone else. "He looks frightening and iconic in his own unique way. It's an intriguing reinterpretation of this character. We've had plenty of classic Riddler looks on screen now so I'm fully embracing this fresh take."

One tweet reads: "Paul Dano's Riddler is going to be one of the greatest CBM villain performances of all time mark my words."

Taking exception to some fans criticizing the look, another fan said, "This is such a unique and fresh take on such an iconic villain, and people don't seem to be able to appreciate this??? Not every live action riddler outfit needs to be bright green and have a bowler hat."

"Even though we have to wait until next year, I just can't help but have the feeling that Paul Dano is going to crush it as The Riddler in The Batman," adds another DC fan. "This could be potentially one of the best comic book movie villains."

And another fan wrote: "I actually really like this look for Riddler. Takes influence from real serial killers and gives him a unique design. I can't wait to see it in action."

In The Batman, Paul Dano plays Riddler in a new incarnation of the Dark Knight with Robert Pattinson in the role. The movie is set early into Bruce Wayne's career as a vigilante crime-fighter when a serial killer known as the Riddler starts leaving clues behind at the scene of his murders. Also featured in villain roles will be Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Colin Farrell as Penguin, with other cast members including Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth.

In any case, we can all see how Paul Dano's performance as Riddler turns out when The Batman is released on March 4, 2022. This follows a rather lengthy production that saw multiple delays due to the pandemic, but filming has since been wrapped. You can see what many other people are saying about the character's design over on Twitter.