What’s there to be said about superhero movies that hasn’t been repeated ad nauseam? Indeed, the capes and crusaders of the comic book world continue to be Hollywood’s favorite playgrounds, despite the blows that such a marriage tend to deal to the concept of originality.
But every now and again, there’s a comic book movie that goes against the grain for the better, and The Batman is easily one of the best examples from the last few years. Writer-director Matt Reeves shed CGI shenanigans in favor of a more practical, slow-burn noir bolstered by a pair of masterful performances from Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano. The Batman dared to show a few different notes of the superhero subgenre, and even if it wasn’t for you, there’s no denying the value of that move.
Dano, of course, brought the Riddler to life in such a haunting way, but he wasn’t without some aspiring competition. In a recent interview with Esquire, Barry Keoghan, who ultimately nabbed the uncredited role of the Joker in the film, reminisced about the cheekily haphazard shot he took at the role of the Riddler.
I just made it up. I wanted to make it Kubrick-y: symmetrical, the X on the back, the square doorframe, everything square. I just wanted swag to come across. Swag and endearing. It was just me giving my idea. And then I’s like, I’ma send this in!
For context, the tape (which is available to watch on Keoghan’s Vimeo channel) sees Keoghan don the full comic-accurate top hat and cane as he silently glides around a hallway to some creepy music, and now those dreams of a Reeves-verse multiverse have a new source of power.
Dano’s casting as the Riddler was probably best case scenario for everyone involved, though. The Fabelmans star turned in the villain performance of a lifetime, and Keoghan, who’s long overdue for the spotlight (a correction Emerald Fennell will be making with Saltburn), is now going to pop up somewhere down the line as the Clown Prince of Crime—and we can only imagine how a character of that magnitude will gel with Keoghan’s trademark brazen gravitas.
This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.
(featured image: Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty Images)
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Charlotte Simmons
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