Batman’s rogue’s gallery is starting to pile up for his newest cinematic outing.
Ever since Matt Reeves took over as director in 2017, Warner Bros.’s newest Batman movie has been shrouded in nothing but secrecy. First, it was rumored that Ben Affleck would reprise the role of Batman and would go up against Jared Leto’s Joker, but that rumor fell apart quickly once Affleck officially left the project earlier this year. Then Robert Pattinson, most known for Twilight fame, was cast as Bruce Wayne in Affleck’s place. Now the movie is confirmed not to be another origin story, but rather a neo-noir crime thriller with several villains stacked up against the caped crusader.
Well, we can now confirm at least two names that the Batman will be going up against. The first will be Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler, who tricks and manipulates the Batman through his several riddles and puzzles. The Hollywood Reporter earlier confirmed that Paul Dano, the fantastic actor behind movies including Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood, and Love & Mercy, will be portraying Edward Nygma in the upcoming superhero flick.
But Dano isn’t the only big name attached to the project. Zoe Kravitz, the spitfire woman behind roles in movies including X-Men: First Class, Divergent, and Mad Max: Fury Road was also confirmed earlier this week to be playing Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman. Anne Hathaway was the most recent actress to portray the feline Fatale in Christopher Nolan’s 2013 epic The Dark Knight Rises. Interestingly enough, this is Kravitz’s second time to portray Catwoman, as she first provided her voice for the character in 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie.
Finally, Jeffrey Wright, the actor behind films including The Hunger Games and the newest James Bond movies, and television shows including “Boardwalk Empire” and “Westworld,” will be portraying Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming flick. Since its unclear when exactly the film takes place, Gordon could be either a friend or foe to Batman depending on how long Bruce has adopted the cowl. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing what Robert and Jeffrey’s chemistry will be like and how they work together in the film.
Overall I’m very pleased with these casting developments. Paul Dano is a highly underrated actor and has consistently put out great performance after great performance. Him playing the Riddler is pitch-perfect casting, although I would have loved to have seen what Jonah Hill might have done in the role before he exited the production. Zoe Kravitz is just as intriguing as Catwoman. Although she’s been in several high-profile movies, she hasn’t really been given a role as prominent as this. It’ll be exciting to see what she potentially does in the role and how she plays with Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
The most perplexing to me is Jeffrey Wright. While he’s a talented actor and a great pick for Commissioner Gordon, it’s unclear how he fits into the larger DC Extended Universe. Early on in production, The Batman was pitched as sort of a prequel to Ben Affleck’s Batman in Justice League. But as everyone already knows, J.K. Simmons portrayed Commissioner Gordon in that film and he and Jeffrey look nothing alike. Does that basically confirm that this is a standalone reboot and not attached to the DCEU? Only time will tell whether it is for sure.
What do you guys think? Are you excited that the cast is growing for The Batman? What are your thoughts on some of these casting choices? Comment below, let me know.
– David Dunn
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
DAVID DUNN 