‘The Batman’ director explains why he wanted Paul Dano as the Riddler

The Batman director Matt Reeves says there’s more to the Riddler than meets the eye, and that Dano is the perfect actor to pull it off.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reeves talks about his approach to the Riddler. “That character, he’s caught up in his artistry and he struggles to communicate with those around him,” said Reeves. “That was spiritually connected to the idea of this isolation that the Riddler felt. The Riddler is a product of our time, the way that people become isolated online and retreat to mental activities that substitute for not having contact. Paul is just off center in a way that makes him very relatable. I didn’t want this character to be a villain. Even in his darkness, I wanted to see that humanity.”

Dano has indeed won acclaim for starring in some very dark roles; he acted alongside Danielle Radcliffe in Swiss Army Man, a movie about a suicidal man who uses a talking (and flatulent) corpse for survival, and in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, where he played the victimized and mentally-unstable Alex Jones. That the actor is himself a writer and filmmaker, having directed indie feature Wildlife in 2018, surely lends depth to his understanding of complex characters, as well.

Some people might be surprised that the Riddler’s history isn’t exclusively villainous. In the comics, he’s headed a detective agency and fought crime using that highly intelligent brain of his, and in the Fox series Gotham, he started out as a forensic science technician working for the GCPD, before he succumbed to a life of riddle-based crime.

The Batman delves into the character’s trauma as the source of his revenge; Edward Nashton grew up a neglected, isolated child in the Gotham Orphanage, where his resentment towards the wealthy Wayne family, and the larger world, festered. As an adult, he decides to use riddles and more extreme measures to expose the corruption rampant in Gotham.

Riddler’s difficult childhood humanizes him, but his methods are quite villainous, from what’s been seen in the trailer. He commits violent crimes, including murders, and uses explosives to sow fear and make his point known. Like many who resort to violence, Riddler believes that his ends justify the means, no matter how many people get hurt.

Scrutinize Dano as the Riddler when The Batman releases in theaters on March 4.