Paul Dano has been cast as the Riddler in The Batman

The riddle of who will help Warner Bros. flesh out its villainous The Batman cast has just been solved.

Paul Dano has landed the role of the iconic villain the Riddler in The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson in the title role, The Hollywood Reporter writes. Jonah Hill was reportedly being considered to play the Riddler or the Penguin in the movie, but Hill recently dropped out of talks, and Variety reports the studio "had an offer ready to go out to Dano once Hill passed on the role."

The Riddler was previously brought to life by Jim Carrey in 1995's Batman Forever, as well as by Cory Michael Smith on Fox's Gotham. Dano's casting comes just days after Zoe Kravitz also boarded the project as Catwoman, and Jeffrey Wright is reportedly set to play Commissioner Gordon.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Batman will see Pattinson take over as the caped crusader after Ben Affleck portrayed him in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, also having a cameo in Suicide Squad. Affleck was originally set to both star in and direct The Batman, but he said earlier this year he "couldn't crack" the movie and decided it was "time to let someone else take a shot at it." He was replaced as director by War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves.

Reeves has confirmed The Batman will feature a "rogues gallery" of villains, so prepare for the bat signal to be lit up as many more members of the cast are announced in the coming months. The film hits theaters in 2021.