THE BATMAN Just Cast Paul Dano As The Riddler

Today's unexpected news just keeps on coming: Paul Dano (Swiss Army Man, There Will Be Blood) has joined the production of Matt Reeves' The Batman as The Riddler. For a while there, Jonah Hill was in contention for the role, but - as we learned just yesterday - recently dropped out of the project. Apparently Paul Dano was right there, waiting in the (bat)wings.

There's obviously nothing further to report about this at the moment - literally all we know is that Paul Dano is now the Riddler - but what an inspired bit of casting this is! When I think "The Riddler", I think "squirrelly, hyper-intelligent guy who is begging to be punched in the face by Batman at all times", and there is zero doubt in my mind that Dano will be able to nail that. Dano's an incredibly talented actor, one who's made "hyper-intelligent dude just begging to be punched in the face" something of a running theme throughout his career. This is excellent casting. 

Dano joins the already-cast Robert Pattinson (as the soon-to-be-punching Batman), Zoe Kravitz (as Catwoman) and Jeffrey Wright (as Commissioner Gordon). Plenty more casting announcements to come on this one, folks, but so far they are absolutely nailing it. The Batman is shaping up to be something very special, indeed. 

Stay tuned for further updates as they roll in. The Batman hits theaters on June 25th, 2021.