Could The Riddler have originally appeared in The Dark Knight Rises? The film’s writer reveals why plans for the character were ultimately scrapped.
The Dark Knight trilogy is widely considered to be the best series of superhero movies ever put to film. However, it seems the villain for the final project was originally much different. The Dark Knight writer Jonathan Nolan (brother of director Christopher Nolan) originally considered The Riddler instead of Bane, before ultimately deciding against it.
“Bane came out of a conversation with David [Goyer] and [Christopher Nolan].” Jonathan revealed on during an interview with Josh Horowitz. “I was unsure about that at the story stage. But sort of…it’s backseat driving right you’re looking at it. I think Chris understood that he didn’t want to go in…what Heath [Ledger] had done with [The Joker,] you didn’t want to go anywhere near it.”
“I sort of started to play with ideas about the Riddler and what what could be done with that character but it did feel like it was close enough to the space of what we done with Heath that you you really needed to sort of…there’s another genre shift there”
It makes sense that Jonathan and Christopher Nolan would want to stay as far away as they could from Heath Ledger’s Joker when following up on The Dark Knight. It’s widely considered one of the best performances in any film, superhero or otherwise. Taking the sequel in a wildly different direction was likely the smartest course of action.
The Riddler’s Scrapped Role In The Dark Knight
While it was never revealed what plans Jonathan and Christopher Nolan had for The Riddler in The Dark Knight sequel, some interesting details have come to light. Namely, Warner Bros. was pushing for Leonardo Dicaprio to play the role given the actor’s star power at the time. Though, obviously, those conversations went nowhere.
The Riddler wouldn’t be seen on the big screen until 2022’s The Batman. Played by Paul Dano, the character is now considered one of the greats when it comes to live-action comic book villains. While not reaching the level of Heath Ledger’s Joker, it certainly came close, meaning it was perhaps the best call to leave the character out of a Dark Knight sequel.
Stay tuned for the latest news regarding The Batman universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!