BossLogic Imagines Paul Dano's Riddler in The Batman
This week has been a busy one for Warner Bros. Pictures as they continue to fill out the roster [...]
This week has been a busy one for Warner Bros. Pictures as they continue to fill out the roster for Matt Reeves' The Batman. Yesterday brought news that Paul Dano will be joining the film as The Riddler, and now BossLogic has whipped up a very sleek piece of art centered around the villain. The Riddler is a character known for a bit of bold style, but Reeves and other people associated with the project have hinted that this take on The Caped Crusader will be one centered on a realistic approach to the character. In accordance with that line of thinking, the artist obliges with a smart costume that emphasizes some of the more intellectual leanings inherent to The Riddler's backstory and gimmick as one of Batman's enemies.
If you were expecting some bright green spandex and lots of question marks all over the place, this isn't it. In fact BossLogic's real use of that symbol comes in the background and in a subtly placed tie pin. The hat and glasses pretty much have to make it in. (This choice of actor might have demanded it anyway.) The patterns at play in the jacket and shirt do a nice job of contrasting each other while not jumping out and announcing themselves. They've got that understated smart look that reminds you of the university library without looking like someone threw the poor man down a fabric aisle in the dark.
Reeves also addressed the casting on Twitter where he used a different hashtag than some fans would have expected for Dano, "Edward Nashton." Now, usually The Riddler is referred to as Edward Nigma, but it seems like The Batman may forgo that pun i favor of a ore grounded approach. Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths presented a chance for the creative team to go with Nashton in an effort to instill some realism in the character. Of course, he adopts the Nigma name after making the switch to The Riddler.
The director wants to tell a definitive Batman story that cements Bruce Wayne's status as the World's Greatest Detective. To do that, we're going to have to keep him a bit more grounded in a similar fashion to the Nolan trilogy that came before.
"It's very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale," Reeves told the Hollywood Reporter. "It's told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it's going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I'd love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it's going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation."