THE BATMAN’s Riddle Doesn’t Include Penguin Yet

Following word that Zoë Kravitz will be playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman in The Batman from Matt Reeves, we now learn that actor/director Paul Dano is in talks to join the production. According to Variety, he’s being offered the role of the Riddler.

This comes after a protracted negotiation between Warner Bros. and representatives for Jonah Hill ended with Hill passing on the role of the Penguin. The offer to Dano comes so quickly after Hill passed, a likely conclusion is that WB had the offer ready to go as soon as they had a decision from Hill.

Dano began his acting career on Broadway before moving into film with a role in The Newcomers in 2000. His dual roles as Paul and Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in L.I.E. He’s appeared in 12 Years a Slave, Prisoners, and he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor after his turn as Beach Boy Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy.

Hill passed after an offer was made, according to reports in both Variety and Deadline. Further, Deadline reported that their sources had Hill playing either the Penguin or the Riddler, but talks broke down. Another name being bandied about for the Penguin: Seth Rogen, but no talks have been reported as of yet.

So does this mean that the Riddler replaces the Penguin as one of the two leading villains in the film? Early rumor was that Catwoman and the Penguin would take center-stage in the rogues gallery, backstopped by the Riddler and Poison Ivy, along with other villains from Batman’s mythology.

The Batman hits theaters June 25, 2021.