This week, the news cycle surrounding Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s The Batman has seen the casting of Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and the cessation of talks with Jonah Hill for one of several villainous roles. Even so, the latest from the two-time Planet of the Apes franchise director and The Lighthouse star is still chugging along. Hence Thursday’s revelation that Paul Dano of Escape at Dannemora and Okja fame would play a character named Edward Nashton — otherwise known as Edward Nygma, or the Riddler, in the comics.
That’s right, folks. The same guy who literally sailed the ocean on Daniel Radcliffe’s farting corpse in Swiss Army Man (and other cinematic gems) is going to play one of the big bads in Reeves’ upcoming Batman reinvention for Warner Bros. And, to be honest, it’s fantastic casting. The majority of Twitter’s industry experts, critics, and trolls seem to agree. Though this is social media, of course, so with all the praise and positive speculation came plenty of snark and jokes.
But first, the good stuff! Dano has built up an impressive body of acting work in the last decade and folks have noticed.
Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, and Jonah Hill NOT involved is my idea of a very promising movie!
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) October 17, 2019
Paul Dano is one of the best and most underrated actors working today and is perfectly suited for The Riddler. I can’t wait to see what he brings to the role, which is sure to be something special. #TheRiddler
— Arctic Ninja (@arcticninjapaul) October 17, 2019
paul dano getting cast as the riddler has me thinking about his perfect performance in prisoners https://t.co/gPkSJUGhVr
— amanda :( (@paranoidspark) October 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/UberKryptonian/status/1184895679002501120
Paul Dano as The Riddler excites me almost as much as Pattinson as Batman.
I swore I’d never love a Batman movie as much as Nolan’s trilogy, but Matt Reeves is already giving that notion a run for its money.
— Anna Klassen (@AnnaJKlassen) October 17, 2019
Finally, however, there are the jokes. Lot and lots and really good jokes.
Robert Pattinson in a weird animal mask investigating crimes done by a sexy Zoe Kravitz and smarmy Paul Dano still sounds like something A24 would acquire at TIFF and debut a year later on like 146 screens to the tune of maybe $5 million max.
— Jacob Knight (@JacobQKnight) October 17, 2019
Let Paul Dano bring Okja with him to Batman
— Jackson McHenry (@McHenryJD) October 17, 2019
Paul Dano could open a box of Cheez-Its and we’d be like, “…haunting.”
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) October 17, 2019
Sounds like The Batman is going to rule, though there is one bit of casting that could make it even better…
Ok, Jonah Hill passed. Clearly the next move for Penguin has to be someone familiar with marine biology. Ahem.
— jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) October 17, 2019
