io9: the riddler

Get Used To Eddie Murphy In Batman 3, aka Gotham

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:00:00 PST

The Sun reporter Gordon Smart stands by his report that Eddie Murphy will party all the time as The Riddler in the Dark Knight sequel — which he claims will be called Gotham.

The fandom world is calling for Smart's head for putting Eddie Murphy and Batman in the same sentence, let alone the same movie. But Smart, who claims people laughed at him when he touted Daniel Craig as the next Bond, insists that both Murphy and Shia LaBeouf will be in the next Dark Knight, or Gotham as he's calling it.

LaBeouf will play Robin — or as you may remember him, the one character whose presence would be enough to make Christian Bale walk out on the next movie.

Forget WB's on the record denials and common sense, Smart stands by his tip. You know, it's okay to admit you were drinking at work. Acceptance is the first step. [The Guardian]

Johnny Depp Not The Riddler . . . Yet

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:30:00 PDT

When asked on a radio interview about casting rumors that he'd be playing the Riddler, Johnny Depp silenced the internet by stating simply, "Not that I know of . . . It seemed like it be a fun gig for a while." Hell yeah it would be a cool gig John, so do it. Find your inner crazy Nolan dark-hearted baddie and sign up. [YouTube via Comic Book Cynic]

Only Big-Name Villains For Supermax

Graeme McMillan — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:05:12 PDT

For everyone waiting to see the Riddler show up in the sequel to The Dark Knight, you're probably going to have a long wait coming. But that doesn't mean that he won't get his day in the cinematic sun - He's just one of the supervillains being lined up to appear in Warner Bros' planned Green Arrow Prison Break movie.

The movie's writer, Justin Marks, was more than happy to share the names of some of the bad guys that will be appearing in the movie that currently calls itself Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max, and they'll not only include the Riddler, but also Green Lantern villain The Icicle, Superman's Lex Luthor and even an in-name-only cameo from the Joker, amongst many others. And the point of bringing all these villains together? To create a movie universe for DC's characters just like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk have done for Marvel:

What we wanted to do, and I think we'll continue to do as the studio continues to push the movie forward, is to be able to [put Queen] in the center of a much bigger universe... In the same way that Marvel is starting to do, when you're in the [filmed] DC Universe [where] this world and this world and this world — they all exist in an interrelated web.

Does this mean that we may see a crossover between the Green Lantern movie and Super Max? That a sequel to The Dark Knight might include cameos from Brandon Routh's Man of Steel? Time - and the potential tanking of future Marvel movies like Thor and Captain America, which might scare off Warners from this plan - will tell.

Green Arrow to "Escape from Super Max" [MTV Movies]

Batman's Best Friend Reveals Villain Of Third Bat-Movie

Meredith Woerner — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:40:00 PDT

What Bat-menace will grace the big screen in the next Batman movie to come after Dark Knight? Gary Oldman, who plays good cop Jim Gordon, and director Christopher Nolan spilled the beans in an interview. But Nolan also hinted he may not be around to complete his Bat-trilogy. Also, they addressed the tricky issue of recasting the Joker, played in The Dark Knight by the late Heath Ledger. Click through for details.

Oldman and Nolan confirmed the next Batman villain would be The Riddler, last played by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever. Asked whether they would recast the role of the Joker due to the sad passing of actor Heath Ledger Oldman expressed his great appreciation for Ledger's portrayal, and said, "Maybe we don't need the Joker. Because we'll have The Riddler." Fascinating, how will Nolan bring to life such an over-the-top character? Granted he brought The Joker to deep and dark reality, so The Riddler could very well be a slightly believable villain.

Director Chris Nolan had no idea about bringing back The Joker, and in fact he says he's not especially gung ho about making a third Batman movie in the first place. When asked about making a third film, Nolan tells Movie Web, "I don't know. I take my projects one at a time, and I am not thinking about that right now. I don't know if I want to come back." Whoa — what's with the sour grapes? You've been making movie magic, why not round out the series while you still have all the actors you love under contract? [Movie Web]