Paul Dano Returning As The Riddler In Batman Sequel?
Paul Dano played one of Gotham's darkest villains in The Batman and it seems like we might be lucky enough to get him back soon.
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When Matt Reeves took his first stab at the world of DC in this year’s The Batman, Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of the titular crime-fighting superhero wasn’t the only performance to catch attention. Taking on the role of one of Gotham’s most brainy and maniacal villains, the Riddler, Paul Dano absolutely nailed the part. And now, with Reeves hard at work on what will be the film’s sequel, Dano is expressing excitement and hopes of returning.
During a chat with IGN at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, Paul Dano expressed being more than down to reprise his role, commenting that he “loved” every aspect of the film and creating it. As of right now, it sounds like he hasn’t gotten the confirmation of the Riddler’s return in the sequel, saying that if production should reach out to him, he would definitely answer the call. It also sounds like not only did he get along well with his co-star and fellow bad guy, Barry Keoghan who played the Joker, but that he’d love to work with him again. In the very last scenes of the film, audiences watched as the Riddler and the Joker struck up a friendship, hinting that this wouldn’t be the last time we’ll see the bad guy duo on the big screen.
Because of the popularity of Reeves and Dano’s Riddler, DC Comics revealed that they were moving forward with a backstory comic for the character also known as Edward Nashton. And with his understanding of the inner workings of Riddler’s mind, who better to pen the comic titled The Riddler: Year One than Paul Dano? Over the last year, the actor shared that he’s been hard at work bringing a fuller story of the everyman turned brutal killer to comic form, a project that we can’t wait to get our hands on.
The Batman was an incredibly dark take on the caped crusader and the crime-ridden city of Gotham. The film sees Robert Pattinson’s Batman hunting down the killer known as Riddler before he can slay again. Playing a cat and mouse game with the Dark Knight, Riddler leaves bizarre and hard-to-decipher clues to aid Batman in his hunt. Meanwhile, the political underbelly of Gotham begins to show itself, leading Batman on a dual mission of uncovering the truth. Along with Robert Pattinson, Paul Dano, and Barry Keoghan, the film also starred Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jayme Lawson.
Meant to drop much sooner than it did, the Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano starring movie faced a lot of setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pushed back almost a year, the film finally hit screens in March and raked in a whopping $770 million, making up for its $185-200 million budget. Critics and audiences alike enjoyed the performances and the darker storyline, making it a crushing hit. Along with the comic book, the film also spawned two sequels as well as two small screen spinoffs that are in the works at HBO Max.
