It’s been a long long time since we last saw the Riddler in a Batman movie. Edward Nigma’s most recent appearance came in Joel Schumacher’s camp opus Batman Forever back in 1995. That long wait will soon be coming to an end, though.
Paul Dano has officially been cast in the role for Matt Reeves’ upcoming reboot of the franchise. We won’t get to see him in The Batman until next year at the earliest, but in the meantime, creative fans do what creative fans do best – trying their hand at imagining for themselves.
Today, we’re going to point you in the direction of a piece by Instagram artist @WillGray_Art, which gives us a glimpse at what Dano could look like as the Riddler. See for yourself in the gallery down below.
Not bad, right? What’s immediately obvious is that Dano looks the part. When we get our first official glimpse at his character, one imagines it’ll look much closer to this than it will Jim Carrey’s pantomime onesie. Come to think of it, no director/actor has attempted to interpret the Riddler seriously in cinema. Other than Carrey, the only man to play him was Frank Gorshin in Batman, the feature length version of the 60s TV show. If you think you’ve seen camp and you haven’t seen that movie, think again.
I understand why no one has tried to play the Riddler straight though, as he’s very much in the vein of villains like Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy – there’s something inherently silly about them. I’ll tip my hat should Matt Reeves succeed in finding a viable dramatic angle for him.
Fan of this Riddler fan-art? Drop a comment below, or indeed on @WillGray_Art’s Instagram post (he did make it, after all). And remember, The Batman is just under 17 months away.
