When looking at Paul Dano’s version of the Riddler, many have compared the interpretation to the real life Zodiac Killer. Dano’s performance will be seen in full in the upcoming The Batman. In an interview with Collider, the project’s director Matt Reeves talked about how a significant reason he picked the Riddler as the main antagonist was the Zodiac himself.
Reeves discussed how the Zodiac’s method of committing his crimes, which was leaving a trail of clues, ciphers, and communications to the police, in a sick game of cat and mouse, sounds like a “horrifying version of the Riddler.” The Riddler is well known for leaving clues or riddles for Batman to figure out.
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While explaining why his hopes for the film, Reeves said:
The director said that a large part of Batman’s character is in “being anonymous”, and how disturbing it would be if the anonymity were disrupted. He explained:
‘I Thought, Wow, That Actually Sounds Like a Horrifying Version of the Riddler’
Reeves went into further detail when he described the Riddler:
When the Riddler was first created in 1948, social media did not exist. Since the Zodiac committed his murders in the late 1960s, the technology incorporated to help connect people was not a reality. A major difference between the early appearances in comics, as well as the Zodiac, and the movie will be the use of social media. Reeves talked about the Riddler’s use of the medium when he said:
The Batman will arrive exclusively in theaters on March 4. Additional co-stars include Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Ferrell as Oswald Cobblepot/ Penguin, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone.
