With the film currently dominating the box office, it has been announced that The Batman is getting a tie-in comic book series delving further into the background of Paul Dano‘s Riddler. Dubbed Riddler: Year One, the DC Comics series was announced by The Batman director on Twitter along with an image revealing our first look at the artwork. Dano himself is writing the 6-issue series with artwork provided by Stevan Subic.
While no additional information has been revealed about the story, the Riddler: Year One title seems to suggest that the comic book will be a prequel series. It could provide more insight into what led to Edward Nashton’s mental decline and subsequent transformation into the supervillain known as the Riddler. In any case, there’s still a lot of unanswered questions about the puzzling serial killer, and we may be getting a lot of them answered in the comic book.
The world of The Batman will be further expanded in other mediums. A new movie is inevitable, given The Batman‘s success, though it hasn’t been officially announced. There are at least two spinoff shows in development at HBO Max. One will focus on Arkham Asylum, the maximum security facility housing the city’s most dangerous supervillains. Another brings back Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot to chronicle his rise from petty criminal into the kingpin known as Penguin.
Paul Dano Was the First and Only Choice to Play The Batman’s Riddler
The Batman introduces a different kind of Riddler. Inspired by the Zodiac Killer, this incarnation is much more sinister than we have typically seen the character portrayed. What really helped make it work was the portrayal by Dano in the role. From the start, director/co-writer Matt Reeves had envisioned Dano for the role, and he had actually written this Riddler with Dano in mind.
“That character, he’s caught up in his artistry and he struggles to communicate with those around him,” Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter. “That was spiritually connected to the idea of this isolation that the Riddler felt. The Riddler is a product of our time, the way that people become isolated online and retreat to mental activities that substitute for not having contact. Paul is just off center in a way that makes him very relatable. I didn’t want this character to be a villain. Even in his darkness, I wanted to see that humanity.”
Along with Dano as the Riddler, The Batman also stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne (aka the Batman), Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot (aka Penguin), as well as Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Reeves co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig.
The Batman is now playing in movie theaters everywhere. As for Riddler: Year One, watch for the comic book to debut in October 2022.
