The first teaser trailer for The Batman went ahead and confirmed that Matt Reeves’ new version of The Riddler would be a radical new version of the DC Villain. Removing the green outfit and question mark cane in place of a clear Zodiac killer influence will do that, but now some new photos from the movie have given us our best look yet at Paul Dano’s new version of the character. These new photos, which appear to come from the most recent The Batman-centric issue of Empire Magazine, also offer a fresh look at Catwoman, Penguin, and Gordon from the new movie. Check them out below!
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In case you didn’t believe the comparisons between The Batman’s Riddler and The Zodiac Killer, Reeves himself admitted it to Empire. Speaking with the magazine in a new interview, he revealed: “He made me think of the Zodiac Killer. He went around in a black, crudely-made costume, with an insignia and an executioner-type hood. In the darkest of dark ways, he’s the real-world analogy for one of these rogues’-gallery characters. There was something very powerful and provocative in that idea.”
Dano himself had thoughts on the comparison as well, adding: “I liked how both grounded and big this film is at the same time. So there are some grounding forces like the Zodiac Killer, right? But it’s still ‘The Batman,’ and for me it’s so much bigger, so it was important to let my imagination react to the script, rather than strictly basing it on a serial killer.”
There’s further proof within the marketing for The Batman that this version of The Riddler is influenced by Zodiac it’s in his coded messages. The first trailer revealed a card he wrote “To The Batman,” which can be seen on the post as well, which feautres cypher. Zodiac, a serial killer that operated in California in the late 1960s, was best known for sending cryptic puzzles to the media, some of which still have not been decoded. WB has even integrated the decoding of The Riddler’s messages into the viral marketing for the film.
In addition to Paul Dano as The Riddler and Robert Pattinson as the titular dark knight, the cast for the movie also includes Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jayme Lawson as Bella Real, Barry Keoghan as Officer Stanley Merkel, and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth.
The Batman hits theaters on March 4, 2022.
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Image courtesy of DC Comics
