The origin of the Riddler as he appeared in director Matt Reeves' The Batman will continue in a series penned by Paul Dano himself, who has successfully turned his jotted-down notes into a fully-fledged comic script.
“One of the important steps for me [in preparing a character] is creating a backstory,” Dano told Empire in an interview published in the magazine's latest print issue. “It’s about getting to page one of the script…so you’re operating partly from the subconscious of the character.” The actor added that he typically penned journal entries to get into this specific mindset, but, for The Batman, he wrote down notes on the Riddler's history in a comic book style, making it -- in a certain sense -- a project created in conjunction with the Matt Reeves-directed movie.
What is Riddler: Year One?
As Dano explained his creative process, "I secretly thought, 'This could be kind of cool as a comic.' One day on set, I told Matt Reeves about a couple of my backstory things and he said, 'That should be a comic,'" Dano said, before adding that Reeves and producer Dylan Clark were the ones who took the idea to DC, thus directly leading to Riddler: Year One. “Of course I was excited, but I also had this feeling of, you know, 'Oh shit.'"
Riddler: Year One spans six issues and delves into how the accountant Edward Nashton turned into the live-streaming, riddle-composing serial killer of The Batman. Stevan Subic illustrates Paul Dano's script, which has already taken shape with an early preview of the issue depicting Edward as an obsessive internet user who is utterly taken aback after encountering Batman for the first time.
“I always had in my mind an image of the Batman that Edward had drawn, very crude but trying to make contact,” Dano said. “And that first time seeing the Batman -- what would that feel like, this rush of almost love?... This is borne of the film, but it has to be something that stands on its own.”
Dano's portrayal of Ridder in The Batman veered closer to that of the Zodiac killer than Frank Gorshin and Jim Carrey's manic, puzzle-obsessed live-action portrayals in the 1966 Batman television series and the 1995 movie Batman Forever, respectively. Indeed, shortly after the 2022 film's release, Dano expressed his excitement to participate in a possible sequel, saying, "If they call me, I'll show up."
Riddler: Year One #1 is penned by Dano, illustrated by Subic and features a cover by Bill Sienkiewicz. Variant covers by Jim Lee, Greg Ruth, Tula Lotay and Kouta Sasai will also be available. The issue goes on sale Oct. 25 from DC Comics.
Source: Empire Magazine