As we’ve been saying, now that Robert Pattinson is chosen as Batman in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film, it’s onto finding the rest of the cast, which is believed to be comprised of the biggest ensemble of villainy ever put to screen.
One Gotham villain we will reportedly see, and one we hope to, is The Riddler. Agitated genius Edward Nygma is rumored to be another piece in a larger mystery Batman has to unravel and, knowing Riddler, he will pull his share of strings.
The thing is we have no idea who is going to play Nygma nor who is being considered. Fortunately, a major actor is, in his own words, putting his name out there. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne recently expressed his interest in playing the classic rogue.
Redmayne took questions while sitting down with IMDB at the Toronto International Film Festival. When asked what supervillain he would like to play, the actor stated The Riddler.
“I’d love to play the Riddler. Just putting it out there,” he said.
What supervillain would you like to play? #TIFF19 pic.twitter.com/OVizFpx7mZ
— IMDb (@IMDb) September 9, 2019
Redmayne has quite the resume for bringing The Riddler back to life on the big screen. He won his Oscar for portraying physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and was nominated for his performance in The Danish Girl, another movie based on a true story.
What gives him a leg up is his current place at Warner Bros. as part of the studio’s Fantastic Beasts franchise, an offshoot of Harry Potter. Redmayne plays Newt Scamander — the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a text that is required reading for Harry at Hogwarts. (Related: Report: Johnny Depp Not Officially Signed Onto Fantastic Beasts 3)
Riddler is an author of sorts too, author of a game of wits and schemes where the object is to beat and outsmart the Bat, which he rarely does. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang in 1948, Riddler has been a thorn in the Dark Knight’s side for decades, antagonizing him at many pivotal turns in comics and elsewhere — including Batman Forever and HUSH. (Related: DC Comics Drops First Official Batman: Hush Trailer)
If Reeves makes Redmayne an offer, we’ll see. We know the director has his eyes on a black or mixed-race actress for Catwoman, in the tradition of Halle Berry and Eartha Kitt. (Related: Rumor: Robert Pattinson’s The Batman Could Feature a Catwoman of Color or Mixed Race)
Andy Serkis, a frequent collaborator with Reeves, is rumored to be up for a role. Some thought it was The Penguin but his offer is reported to be something else — possibly Mad Hatter, who is expected to turn up too. (Related: Rumor: Andy Serkis Will Appear in The Batman as a Villain Other Than Penguin)
Rumored to be based on The Long Halloween, a saga involving all the above, The Batman is slated for a June 2021 release.