Riddler Confirmed for B3!

Well, OK, not really. But as Dark Horizons put it, “the Riddler being the villain for the next Batman film has been upgraded from wild rumor to regular rumor.” Studio casting grids for Batman 3 mentions the character as being in the film, and apparently that’s a pretty good indication, according to firstshowing.net.

Interesting. I’ve spoken to friends who feel that the Riddler is an unlikely villain due to the fact that he could be narratively too similar to the Joker. Personally, I’m feel that the Riddler and Catwoman are obvious choices, and have faith that Christopher and Jonathan Nolan will do something clever and original with them. My hope is that they do something similar to an angle that was used in a recent comic story arc.

Picture this: At the end of The Dark Knight, Batman is an outlaw on the run. Gotham’s police and citizens have turned against him. In Batman 3, the Riddler is introduced as an apparent good guy, a brilliant problem-solver who has offered his services to the police. He helped crack several tough cases and he and the GPD are hard at work tracking down the Batman. Problem is, this Riddler character has darker motives and may actually be responsible for several of the crimes he had a hand in solving. Batman of course figures this out, and the Riddler leads him on a merry chase of increasingly deadly puzzles. By the end, Batman is redeemed in the eyes of Gotham for saving the city and exposing the Riddler’s true criminal nature. Also, a very morally gray Selina Kyle/Catwoman is involved somehow because we need a strong female character and love interest for Bruce Wayne. She will not be played by Angelina Jolie because that is a terrible idea. Anything’s possible, I s’pose, but that’s my take and my prediction. If it turns out to be true, you heard it here first.