In a recent interview Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, revealed that he was inspired by the infamous Killer of the Zodiac when it came to “giving life” to his personal version ofRiddler, the main villain who will oppose the Bat played by Robert Pattinson.
The filmmaker has hinted at as the devious character who will be played by Paul Dano immediately brought to mind one of the most heinous serious killers of the American crime news, the murderer who inspired the film Zodiac:
It immediately made me think of the Zodiac killer. He too went around dressed in black with an executioner’s hood. In the darkest of dark ways, it’s an amazing real-world analogy for rogue characters like these. There was something very powerful and provocative about that idea.
The Batman, the Riddler and the Zodiac Killer
In fact, similar to the Riddler, the Zodiac Killer disseminated encrypted clues by “playing” with the police and challenging them to catch him, a bit like the DC Comics villain and his deadly puzzles.
Paul Dano really appreciated the fact that the genesis of his character is a bit rooted in reality, even if he wanted to reiterate how his interpretation is still original and not totally linked to the figure of the notorious murderer:
I liked that there were elements rooted in the figure of the Zodiac Killer. However we are talking about The Batman and for me it is still much bigger, so it was important to let my imagination and interpretation react to the script, rather than strictly basing it on that particular crime story character.
The Batman plot, release date and details
The Batman is an edgy, action-packed thriller that portrays Batman in his early years as he struggles to balance anger with righteousness as he investigates a haunting mystery that has terrified Gotham.
Robert Pattinson offers a raw and intense portrayal of Batman as a disillusioned and desperate vigilante awakened by the realization that the rage that consumes him makes him no better than the ruthless serial killer he is chasing.
Question everything.#TheBatman pic.twitter.com/OUOkscOdK0
– Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) December 20, 2021
The film revolves around the investigation and resolution of an intricate case that will see Batman face off against his most cunning and devious enemy: theRiddler. In addition to solving the dangerous puzzles created by the character played by Paul Dano, the Bat will also have to contend with other historical villains such as the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Two faces (Richard Moll) e Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz).
The Batman will be released in Italian cinemas on March 3, 2022, one day before its US debut.
Matt Reeves’ film stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, the “Gotham Crusader,” alongside Andy Serkis as Alfred, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright it’s James Gordon, Colin Farrell is Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin, Paul Dano is instead Edward Nashton aka The Riddler, John Turturro it’s Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard is Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. e Barry Keoghan it is officer Stanley Merkel instead.
