Paul Dano Wanted to Wrap the Riddler in Plastic Wrap in ‘The Batman’
After many delays, The Batman will make its way to theaters on Friday, March 4, and fans will finally get to see Paul Dano as the Riddler. Jim Carrey previously played the villain in Batman Forever, but Dano’s version of the character is much different. The Riddler is more terrifying in the new movie, and that might be because Dano had the idea to wrap himself in plastic wrap.
Paul Dano plays the Riddler in ‘The Batman’
The Batman shines a spotlight on the Dark Knight‘s second year of crimefighting. Director Matt Reeves wanted to explore the beginnings of Bruce Wayne as a vigilante, and, overall, he wanted The Batman to be a detective noir movie at heart.
The film’s synopsis reads, “Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman, striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, and the Riddler.”
Paul Dano plays the Riddler, aka Edward Nashton, in The Batman. His character is the movie’s main villain, and he is a serial killer with his eyes set on Gotham’s elite. The Riddler is frequently taunting Batman and the police with his riddles in the film. Reeves compares the Riddler in The Batman to the Zodiac Killer.
Paul Dano discusses his plastic wrap idea for his character in ‘The Batman’
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Paul Dano revealed how one of his ideas for the Riddler in The Batman backfired on him. While preparing for the film, the actor realized that the Riddler should cover himself in plastic wrap to avoid leaving his DNA at crime scenes. Dano relayed his vision to Matt Reeves, and they decided to try it out. However, on the day of, Reeves said, “[Dano] took off the mask. He was beet red.”
“My head was just throbbing with heat,” Dano recalled. “I went home that night, after the first full day in that, and I almost couldn’t sleep because I was scared of what was happening to my head. It was like compressed from the sweat and the heat and the lack of oxygen. It was a crazy feeling.”
The costume department came up with a better way to depict the plastic wrap, allowing Paul Dano to breathe while filming The Batman. But the actor still had trouble when he left the movie set.
“There were some nights around that I probably didn’t sleep as well as I would’ve wanted to just because it was a little hard to come down from this character,” Dano explained. “It takes a lot of energy to get there. And so you almost have to sustain it once you’re there because going up and down is kind of hard.”
Critics are praising the actor’s performance in the upcoming DC movie
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Matt Reeves sang the praises of Paul Dano’s performance in The Batman. He said, “Paul is really a chameleon. He’s brilliant in so much. But I think you see him going through a very internal tortured experience in his characters. You can see him really in an active way, having this kind of psychological turmoil that I find is really compelling.”
Once the embargo lifted for The Batman reviews, multiple critics agreed with Reeves. Alex Stedman of IGN wrote, “[Dano’s] Riddler is easily the best live-action Batman villain since Heath Ledger’s Joker.”
In his The Batman review, Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s own Jeff Nelson said, “Dano is just the right amount of unhinged to make this version of The Riddler sing.”
The Batman premieres exclusively in theaters on March 4.
