Batman 3 – Return of the Riddler?

The third installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise really is going to have a massive following and build up after the success of Batman Begins and then The Dark Knight in recreating the Batman series the third installment which is currently slated for a 2012 release, has been creating press since The Dark Knight’s credits rolled. Heath Ledger’s death which occurred before the release of The Dark Knight, the ending which had us wondering The Joker’s fate, yet we knew we would never see the character in that form again. A sad moment for so many reasons, Ledger’s Joker gained an Oscar and so much critical acclaim and was definitely one of performances of the decade if not all time. This has then all raised the very good question of which villain shall be making an appearance in this third film in the series. Apparently the answer to that question is THE RIDDLER.

The Riddler was last seen in Batman Forever portrayed by Jim Carrey, in a fun crazy way. Very light and comic book like, seemed as though he came straight from the pages of the comics these films are based on. I can’t deny that I have always loved Jim Carrey’s Riddler for the age I was when Batman Forever was released and class that film as a very guilty pleasure now. But we have already witness that Nolan’s Batman films aren’t like anything we have ever seen before, they are darker and not going for obvious laughs in a fun way. They are more serious and after what he did with The Joker, we can only begin to imagine how sinister and evil he could make The Riddler.

A number of actors have now been linked to the role with no confirmation if they have even been approached to take the part. I figured the best idea was to have a look at the actors who have already been linked to the role and give my opinion who could be the best in the recreation of The Riddler. Because lets face it we can’t see him looking as wacky as Jim Carrey did in the green spandex with question marks all over it. I’m sure it will be much more subtle than that!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

While Joseph has been around for quite a number of years now, it seems as though we can’t get enough of him since his starring role in (500) Days of Summer last year. Then this summer he can be seen alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, directed by yes you already know Christopher Nolan. Surely that gives Joseph an advantage to the other actors linked to the role? Maybe, just maybe Nolan seems to stick with a lot of the same actors for different films. I would love to see Joseph as The Riddler as I am sure he could pull out a very different and fantastic performance.

Johnny Depp

I am pretty sure any role which would require a brilliant but difference performance has Johnny Depp’s name very firmly attached to the possibility of taking on the role. I mean you just have to look at the many wacky roles he has taken on to understand that he could very easily turn his hand to any role put in front of him. But would his Riddler be a little bit too fun crazy for the darker Batman we have grown more accustomed to?

David Tennant

Best known in the UK for his time as Doctor Who and appearing in different TV drama’s. He would probably be the least well-known of all the actors I am mentioning in this blog post, maybe that could work in his favour? As a lot of people will not have seen very much of him and therefore not really know what to expect from him. So a rather unknown quantity might be the way forward for the role.

Hugh Laurie

A British actor who has pretty much been around forever in mainly TV in both the UK and US, more recently he has to be known as House from the TV series of the same name. He could bring a very interesting side to The Riddler.

Neil Patrick Harris

A star on Broadway and TV show How I Met Your Mother, Neil seems to be growing in stature all the time. Again he would bring a very new and different edge to the Riddler, but perhaps he would have to go more for the funny route than the dark side of it all.

Although this next actor hasn’t been linked in the press I thought he would be a good option to throw in for the part of the Riddler.

Michael Sheen

A terrific character actor who has taken on some very difficult tasks of portraying real people with events which have occurred. Then entering the Twilight world as Aro, it just shows that he is more than willing to take on a challenge of different types of roles. He really is underrated in my opinion and keeps getting better with each film role he takes on. Would be an inspired choice to take on the task of the Riddler as he really is a fantastic actor.

Who would you pick for The Riddler?