It’s well-known that The Batman will pit Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight against multiple enemies. We’ve already got our first glimpse at Colin Farrell’s bleach-haired Penguin from the set of the movie in the UK, with Zoe Kravitz due to play Catwoman and Paul Dano in line to portray the Riddler. Several more are also reportedly involved, but which one of these will actually be the main antagonist?
Well, the way that Matt Reeves’ film will juggle all these supervillains is to use them as suspects in a whodunnit narrative, as the director is known to be drawing from such detective-themed Batman stories as The Long Halloween and Hush. The actual big bad will likely be unveiled late into the runtime, then, but ScreenRant has put forward a compelling theory: What if Dano’s Prince of Puzzles turns out to be the culprit?
As SR points out, Riddler is the natural fit for the villain of a Batman movie that takes the form of a crime thriller due to his love of stringing the Caped Crusader along with clues and hints. The battle between the enemies is always one of wits and not of fists, after all. What’s more, the recent Hush animated film demonstrated how well this could work as it altered the original story and revealed that Edward Nygma was behind Hush all along.
If I might add something to this concept, it’s also worth considering all the hassle Warner Bros. had over casting the part for Reeves’ movie. Initially, Jonah Hill was the top choice, but negotiations broke down when he allegedly asked for too much money. Dano was then found to replace him. Hill’s hefty demands would make more sense if he was after the role of the movie’s central villain, rather than just one of its many supporting antagonists.
This is a solid working theory, then, and we’ll have to be on the lookout for more evidence to support it as shooting continues. It’ll still be a while before we get to see The Batman for ourselves, as it doesn’t swoop into cinemas until June 2021, but stay tuned for further updates.