Warner Bros. and DC's The Batman is an upcoming superhero film based on the titular crime-fighting hero that is set in the fictional world of Gotham City. Now, new promotional artwork offers fans another glimpse at the foe for Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader: Paul Dano's the Riddler.
The promotional artwork for The Batman isn't anything that spoils the plot of the film, nor is it a screenshot from the actual movie itself. It does, however, give fans a little bit of an idea on what to expect from the dynamic between Batman and the Riddler.
What fans got was a creative image that teases this new darker take on the Riddler. Director Matt Reeves gave him a different civilian name than the canonical one from the comics, but that doesn't mean that this character isn't the Riddler. Both versions of the Riddler are obsessed with questions, taking hostages, and having Batman attempt to figure it all out. This is still the same Riddler that Batman fans are familiar with, albeit much more deadly and very unhinged. One of the new promotional images features the Riddler in costume donning a mask with the interesting choice of putting glasses on top, which is a new look considering the character usually shows his face.
The other images are monochromatic shots of Batman with either a solid green or solid red color scheme. One of them features Batman in the shape of a green question mark, which resembles the Riddler's iconic insignia that represents the character's fondness for riddles. Another has a newspaper headline grab with all red coloring that falls in line with the previous red and black posters for the film.
Seeing the Riddler taken much more seriously than he was with his past portrayals is a welcome change for the eccentric villain. Usually seen in bright green outfits, this Riddler appears to be just as calculated as past versions, but much more disturbed and hidden in the shadows. It'll be a welcome change to see two people on opposite sides of 'the war' but both operating in the shadows of Gotham City.
The Batman received a really nice trailer during the DC FanDome event that took place in October 2021. The movie was halted during the height of the pandemic, so it's good to see from the promotion at least that the film was able to keep the production quality going despite the huge time jump from when it initially started filming.
The Batman will be released in theaters on March 4th, 2022.
Source: Bat Source/Twitter