The Batman: The Riddler’s Performance Earns Praise from Matt Reeves

When the cast for The Batman was confirmed it came with the reveal that a number of high profile DC Comics villains will appear in the new film. Zoe Kravitz will appear as Catwoman with Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Another antagonist that will appear is Paul Dano as The Riddler, marking the first time that the character has appeared on the big screen since Jim Carrey took the part for 1995’s Batman Forever. Dano’s take on the character was highlighted specifically by Reeves tonight during DC’s FanDome event, calling him a version of The Riddler you’ve never seen.

“You know we have a Paul Dano plays a version of the Riddler that no one has ever seen before and it’s really exciting,” Reeves said. “He’s such an incredibly creative actor and so what he is doing I think is going to blow people’s minds.”

Reeves went deeper into what fans can expect from the villains in the film at large as well, revealing that the origin story we see in the movie won’t just be for Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight but for his villains too.

“I guess the one thing about the Rogues Gallery is that it actually in a weird way, is the origins of a lot of our Rogue’s gallery characters,” Reeves continued. “So like, Selena isn’t Catwoman yet that’s actually part of the journey. oz is not yet the kingpin that he’s going to become he’s the penguin in fact doesn’t like being called the penguin, and the Riddler is just emerging for the first time, so that’s all incredibly exciting.”

Reeves also spoke about what the people of Gotham City think of Robert Pattinson’s hero in the film, still early in his career as the Caped Crusader.

“I mean if you were in a city, and there was a guy who dressed up as a bat and showed up out of the shadows and sometimes confronted those people and beat them up because he felt like they were doing was wrong so that he could sort of put the fear of God in them about the crimes that they’re committing. I think we would wonder well gee that, that guy sounds a little dangerous,” Reeves said. “The vision of the character that he becomes where he becomes a symbol of hope for the city. He’s early in the trajectory and so they’re afraid of him, frankly he’s kind of a growing legend I think there are some people are wondering, does he exist, how exactly does he exist and that legend is building day by day.”

As of now, The Batman is still on track to hit theaters on October 1, 2021.