The Batman is scheduled to be released in just over a month and will be the Dark Knight’s first solo film in 10 years. Directed by Matt Reeves, the film will see Batman/Bruce Wayne, played by Robert Pattison in his first time as the character, in his second year as Gotham’s masked vigilante. As the Caped Crusader investigates a series of murders, he will be drawn into a confrontation with Paul Dano’s Edward Nashton, better known as the Riddler to comic book audiences. In a new series of interviews, Reeves and Dano recently spoke about what drives the Riddler and how the character defies audience expectations.
Riddler Inspired by True Crime Stories
Speaking with reporters from Total Film, Reeves says that he initially drew inspiration for the film from the book Mindhunter, which chronicles the FBI’s investigations into real world serial killers. Looking at the infamous Zodiac Killer case, Reeves felt that the Zodiac was a primitive comic book character. The director points out that the Zodiac wore a simple costume when committing his crimes. The idea of this scared Reeves, particularly because of how the criminal concealed his identity when terrorizing the innocent.
Reeves soon wove Zodiac’s crimes into an origin story for the Riddler. Working through the details of Riddler’s motives, Reeves says that he found ways of including other major characters from Batman mythology into the story, including Catwoman and the Penguin, who are played by Zoe Kravitz and Colin Farrell, respectively. Looking back on his portrayal of the character, Dano said that he was excited to bring Reeves’ take on the classic villain to life, calling parts of the film shocking.
Pattinson Says Film is Unusual Take on Batman
In a separate interview with Total Film, Pattinson says that he is a major Batman fan, having seen each and every one of the Caped Crusader’s adventures on the big screen. In talking about why he enjoys Batman so much, Pattinson candidly expressed how unusual the character is, describing him as a “freak.” Discussing the Batman/Bruce Wayne duality, Pattinson says that he approached the role with the idea that Wayne is a deeply traumatized individual. Pattinson explains that this trauma is the main driving point of Wayne’s decision to become Batman, describing the character’s vigilante activities as a form of negative self-help.
