The Big Picture
- The final scene between Batman and The Riddler in The Batman took two days to film, with “70 or 80” takes in total.
- Paul Dano’s portrayal of the Riddler involved exploring different emotions, from being tickled to flying into a rage. Reeves found his performance surprising and fantastic, always wanting to do another take.
- The Batman is expanding into a cinematic universe, with spin-off TV shows planned for the Penguin and Arkham Asylum. A sequel, The Batman – Part II, is set to be released in 2025.
In 2022’s The Batman, the Dark Knight (Robert Pattinson) had to stop the Riddler (Paul Dano) from his murder spree. It wasn’t until after the Riddler was arrested, that Batman finally faced the villain in person at Arkham Asylum. While speaking to The Guardian, The Batman director Matt Reeves revealed how long the cast and crew took to film the scene. He also shared what Dano’s creative process while filming the scene.
In the scene, Batman and Riddler are speaking to each other through a glass window. Besides trying to learn more about the villain and his overall plan, Batman is concerned about the possibility of the villain having learned that he is actually Bruce Wayne. In the article, Reeves revealed that the scene was shot over a couple of days. “We took two days on the final scene between him and Robert Pattinson as Batman, and we must have easily done 70 or 80 takes,” said Reeves. “Paul loves doing a lot of takes, as do I.”
The Riddler goes through many emotions in the scene. He reveals to Batman that he was not only inspired by the Dark Knight, but he also sees them as working on the same team. When Batman tells the villain that they are nothing alike, the Riddler becomes angry that his plan with the vigilante is not going the way he wanted it to. “Paul loves exploring. He’s obsessive that way,” said Reeves. “There were all these moments as the Riddler where he’d be tickled by something and then fly into a rage, and you never knew from take to take where that switch would come. I’d be sitting there with the headphones on, trying to stifle my laughter because he’d always do something surprising. Paul [Dano] would ask me: ‘Was that crazy? Was that too much?’ I’d say: ‘No, it’s fantastic. Let’s do another.'”
The Expanding Universe of ‘The Batman’
While DC Studios co-CEOS James Gunn and Peter Safran are planning a new DC Universe, The Batman is also expanding into a cinematic universe. Besides playing the Riddler, Dano wrote a comic book about the origin story of the villain called Riddler: Year One. Colin Farrell‘s version of the Penguin will star in his own upcoming television series, which is set to premiere on Max. Another spin-off television series is also in development for Max, which will focus on Arkham Asylum. A sequel to the first film, The Batman – Part II, is scheduled to be released on October 3, 2025. Both Pattinson and Reeves will return for the sequel.
The Batman is currently available to stream on Max.
