Sonic the Hedgehog 2 star Jim Carrey played The Riddler in Batman Forever, though his take was a million miles away from what Paul Dano did with Edward Nashton in The Batman. The villain went from a colourful costumed evil-doer to a violent, unhinged serial killer, and Carrey has now admitted that he isn't a fan of the character being taken down such a twisted route.
Talking to Unilad, the actor admitted that he hasn't seen The Batman yet, but acknowledged that it features a "very dark version" of The Riddler that he has "mixed emotions" about. Carrey added, "To each his own and all that. I love [Paul Dano] as an actor, he’s a tremendous actor."
"There’s a spot of worry in me over gaffer-taping people’s faces and encouraging people to do the same," the actor continued. "Some sickos out there that might adopt that method. I do have a conscience about the things I choose. Robotnik has cartoon bombs and no-one gets hurt. I know there’s a place for [The Batman], and I don’t want to criticize it, but it’s not my kind of thing...it’s very well done, those movies are very well done."
Some might mock Carrey's concerns, but considering a huge part of the movie is devoted to showing how easily The Riddler encourages copycats (all of whom are basically incels), he makes a valid point. You could say the same thing about many movies to some extent, but given his own history with the iconic Batman villain, we can see why this new take might not appeal to the actor.
The Joker is another character Matt Reeves has reimagined in a twisted way for the Batverse, though we've grown used to seeing the Clown Prince of Crime head to some dark places on screen.
Check out our interview with Dano about his role as The Riddler in the player below: