Paul Dano is The Riddler

[johnnygobbs]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/batman-casts-paul-dano-as-riddler-1248494

Matt Reeves is directing Robert Pattinson in the film.

Filmmaker Matt Reeves has found his Riddler for The Batman. Paul Dano has joined the film as the classic villain, Warner Bros. announced Thursday.
Dano's version of the character will be named Edward Nashton, a departure from the comic books in which he goes by the name Edward Nygma. Frank Gorshin and John Astin played the villain in the 1960s TV series, while Jim Carrey played him in 1995's Batman Forever, directed by Joel Schumacher.

Robert Pattinson is starring in The Batman, with Zoe Kravitz set to play Catwoman and Jeffrey Wright on board as Batman ally Commissioner Gordon. Jonah Hill was at one point eyeing a role in the film as either Riddler or The Penguin, but the deal did not come to fruition. Reeves has said he plans to include a rogues gallery of Batman villains in the film.

Dano was recently nominated for an Emmy for his role in Escape at Dannemora. The actor directed, co-wrote and produced the critically-acclaimed film Wildlife. His other film credits include Love and Mercy, Prisoners, 12 Years a Slave, There Will Be Blood,  Little Miss Sunshine,Youth and Okja, amongst others.

Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, the Riddler — AKA Edward Nygma, or "E. Nigma" — is a supervillain who aims to challenge Batman in a battle of wits, leaving clues and riddles for the world's greatest detective to solve in order to catch him. Since debuting in 1948's Detective Comics No. 140, he's gone on to become one of the most high profile Bat-villains, appearing in movies, cartoons and video games across the past seven decades, stretching his question mark-ridden gimmick as far as it could go and then some, including spending some years as a good guy when he realized that it was just as much fun to solve crimes as it was to commit them.

Warner Bros. opens The Batman on June 25, 2021. Dano is represented by Anonymous Content, WME, Stone, Genow, Smelkinson, Binder and Christopher and Relevant.

—Graeme McMillan contributed to this story.

[johnnygobbs]

Another great casting choice IMHO (thank goodness it wasn't Jonah Hill playing The Riddler, although I could have accepted him as The Penguin).

So far I'm really pleased with all the casting choices:

Batman/Bruce Wayne: Robert Pattinson
Commissioner James Gordon: Jeffrey Wright
Catwoman/Selina Kyle: Zoë Kravitz
The Riddler/Edward Nashton: Paul Dano

[Travesty]

Now this I can get behind. He's a great actor, and I can see him in the role.

[The Dark Knight]

Now this I can get behind. He's a great actor, and I can see him in the role.

I don't know this guy, but just looking at him tells me it's a good choice. The Riddler is one of my favorite villains, perhaps second favorite after the Joker. I think the choice to use Nashton instead of Nigma is rather good for a point of difference. I'd like them to look at the Arkham games for inspiration in terms of characterization. A scene of Batman entering a death trap and solving it would do wonders for displaying his detective work.

[thecolorsblend]

Now this I can get behind. He's a great actor, and I can see him in the role.

I don't know this guy, but just looking at him tells me it's a good choice. The Riddler is one of my favorite villains, perhaps second favorite after the Joker. I think the choice to use Nashton instead of Nigma is rather good for a point of difference. I'd like them to look at the Arkham games for inspiration in terms of characterization. A scene of Batman entering a death trap and solving it would do wonders for displaying his detective work.

Yeah, I've only seen pics of Dano. I've watched literally nothing he's ever been in. But in the pictures, I can totally see him playing a certain kind of Riddler.

Nashton. Can I just say that "Nigma" is a name that's always bugged me? E. Nigma? Srsly? I know, I know. Comics! But even by comic book standards, that's just a stupid name. The Riddler As Jigsaw seems to be the character's natural trajectory lately. I sort of like the concept of Riddler as more like the Unabomber where he sends people puzzles that they have to solve or else. Or something, Idk.

[The Dark Knight]

The Riddler is puzzling in the sense he doesn't have a live action past to be ashamed about, but he doesn't seem to have a magus opus like other villains (Joker, Freeze to name a few). But perhaps that's fitting. I think the issue is that he's difficult to write for.

Gorshin was great – I like the laughing but I do think it was a tad overdone in parts. Carrey was great as a vengeful stalker with a ton of energy and a passion for technology. I think he gets unfairly bashed for giving a Jim Carrey performance, which is why he was hired in the first place. BTAS is well rounded. Arkham's Riddler is just about perfect for me. Someone highly intelligent and witty, but arrogant, insecure, jealous and prone to bad temper and cheating when challenged. I haven't watched Gotham to comment on that Riddler.

What I like about Riddler in general terms is how he makes us think. There's something about that question mark that elicits mystery, and it's the excitement of the unknown. Someone who isn't a physical threat but is elusive and fights on his terms. That creep who leaves behind clues, rings your doorbell but you never see them. As said, this is an opportunity for a death trap. Such a scene honors not just Riddler, but Batman.

[johnnygobbs]

I wonder if that's why the script has taken so long to craft, because The Riddler is such a difficult character to write for, and his schemes take a Sherlock Holmes like sense of intellectual rigour to work-out.  If that's the case, I admire Reeves' ambition and think we could be looking at something really special.

[The Dark Knight]

Good analysis here about the influences they could take with the Riddler:

https://www.ibtimes.com/riddle-me-four-riddlers-matt-reeves-paul-dano-could-pull-batman-2848339

I'm fond of all four of these examples. I'm angling for the threat level of Zero Year, especially if he takes the lead villain role, and the personality and deathtraps of Arkham. Someone more in tune with the gang scene ala War of Jokes and Riddles would be okay, but I like the idea Edward is above that and his own man.

I'm not sure if I'd like a more physically adept Riddler ala the Telltale games.

I see where colors is coming from with the Nygma comment. Edward's real surname being Nashton grounds the character, with the comic booky Nygma name (to also allow the Enigma play on words) coming AFTER he becomes a costumed criminal.

[thecolorsblend]

Now this I can get behind. He's a great actor, and I can see him in the role.

I don't know this guy, but just looking at him tells me it's a good choice. The Riddler is one of my favorite villains, perhaps second favorite after the Joker. I think the choice to use Nashton instead of Nigma is rather good for a point of difference. I'd like them to look at the Arkham games for inspiration in terms of characterization. A scene of Batman entering a death trap and solving it would do wonders for displaying his detective work.

Yeah, I've only seen pics of Dano. I've watched literally nothing he's ever been in. But in the pictures, I can totally see him playing a certain kind of Riddler.

Nashton. Can I just say that "Nigma" is a name that's always bugged me? E. Nigma? Srsly? I know, I know. Comics! But even by comic book standards, that's just a stupid name. The Riddler As Jigsaw seems to be the character's natural trajectory lately. I sort of like the concept of Riddler as more like the Unabomber where he sends people puzzles that they have to solve or else. Or something, Idk.

Actually, another idea is along the lines of the Jared Harris version of Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Oddly enough, I don't think a Moriarty-esque take on the Riddler has ever been done. My memory is that Zero Year played the Riddler as a brilliant person bent on revenge. But I mean specifically presenting the Riddler as a mastermind who is genuinely capable of succeeding rather than a character grinding a personal axe.

I would think the logical way to use the Riddler is a character who uses riddles as a distraction. They're truthful but they don't give the full picture of his big masterplan. Batman has to be smart enough to solve the riddles and also smart enough to realize he's being played.

In theory, the Riddler is more fertile ground for a new interpretation because there's not much to choose from in live action apart from Gorshin and Carrey. It's probably a lot easier to find a new approach to the Riddler than it is the Joker.

What I'm saying is that the more I think about it, the more I realize that there's a lot of potential with the Riddler that other characters can't quite match.

We do need a definitive live action Two-Face at some point though.

[Silver Nemesis]

Regarding the Riddler's riddle in the trailer: "What does a LIAR do when he's DEAD?"...

...a lot of people online have already got the answer to the cipher on the right hand page. I won't post it here in case anyone doesn't want to know what it is, but it's not that difficult to figure out. You might be able to get it based simply on the riddle itself. I bet Burt Ward could. But for anyone who can't and wants to try decoding the message on the right hand page, here are some hints.

Look at the symbols on the right hand page and you'll see that one symbol appears twice consecutively on the bottom row. The same symbol also appears once on the top row. Only a few letters can be repeated like that at the end of a word. What would those letters be?

Note that the symbol preceding the double letter on the bottom row appears after the same symbol on the top row. If the symbol that appears twice consecutively is a consonant, then the one preceding it is likely a vowel. Likewise, if the repeated symbol is a vowel, then the one preceding it is probably a consonant.

The symbol at the end of the top row is the same symbol at the start of the bottom row, which means one word ends with the same letter that begins the next word.

Although it's obscured in the trailer, the subject of the question – the liar – is referred to with the pronoun 'he'. Since the question is asking for a verb, the verb will likely be preceded by the same pronoun.

For a final clue, I'll reveal that the top row comprises two words. The bottom row is a single word.

Can anyone get it without using Google?