Whelp, I knew jumping the gun and speculating that Jonah Hill would be playing The Penguin in ‘The Batman’ would come back and bite me, and it did. Collider reports that Hill is actually in talks to play Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler. According to prior reports, The Riddler is this movie’s main villain, even though he will share the screen in some capacity with Catwoman, Firefly, The Mad Hatter, and Two-Face. Hill has not yet officially signed on, but is in negotiations.
Matt Reeves is directing, based on a screenplay he wrote. The only cast member that has been officially confirmed is Robert Pattinson who is taking on the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. It is known that ‘Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright is also in talks for this picture, to play Commissioner Gordon. On top of the small army of villains, it is believed that Reeves’ script also includes Alfred (duh!) and there is even chatter that Robin will appear.
The Riddler first appeared in 1948’s ‘Detective Comics’ #140. Unitard enthusiast Edward Nygma is a thief with a compulsion to tip-off Batman and the authorities as to his planned heists with beguiling riddles. He has proven to be one of the Dark Knight’s most popular and persistent foes and has appeared in most media adaptations.
Cory Michael Smith most recently played the crook on the series ‘Gotham’ on which he and The Penguin worked, um, very closely together. John Astin also stepped into the role for a two-part episode of the 1960s ‘Batman’ TV series.
However, Astin’s performance was just a fill-in, as most people remember Frank Gorshin’s giddy, manic performance from the show and its spin-off movie. In 1995’s ‘Batman Forever’, human pretzel Jim Carrey turned in a wild performance highly reminiscent of Gorshin’s.
Hill was most recently seen in this year’s ‘The Beach Bum’ with Matthew McConaughey, and last year in the acclaimed Netflix miniseries ‘Maniac!’ with Emma Stone. He was nominated for the Academy Award for his supporting roles in ‘Moneyball’ and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. He is also known for ‘Superbad’ (also with Stone), ‘Django Unchained’, ‘Hail, Caesar!’, ‘War Dogs’, and the ’21 Jump Street’ comedies. He has voiced another emerald-clad DC character, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, in the ‘LEGO’ movies.
What do you think of Jonah Hill portraying The Riddler?
‘The Batman’ is due to hit theaters on June 25, 2021. Check back for updates!
