The Batman looks set to go down as 2022's best superhero movie, but there's still no definitive word on a sequel. We know one is coming, but Warner Bros. missed a trick by not making it official during a panel at this past weekend's San Diego Comic-Con.
Paul Dano, however, was on hand at the event to hype his upcoming comic book series, Riddler: Year One. Talking to IGN about possibly returning as Edward Nashton on the big screen, the actor shared his excitement to "get in there" with a sequel, adding: "If they call, me I'll show up."
As for that prequel story, Dano is writing the series and will be joined by artist Sevan Subic. It's set to arrive in comic book stores on October 25, and "explores the background of how accountant Edward Nashton went from a simple Gotham City nobody to becoming Batman’s nemesis, setting them on a collision course in the blockbuster feature film."
A first look has been revealed, and it seems like a suitably twisted exploration of how Nashton became the serial killer known as The Riddler.
Fans are keen to explore this "Year One" setting after The Batman threw us into Bruce Wayne's second year as Gotham's Dark Knight. We actually see the hero here in what appears to be the first time the future Riddler catches a glimpse of the figure who would inspire his twisted killing spree.
When we spoke with Dano earlier this year, we asked the actor what it was like getting into The Riddler's mindset. "Matt laid out a beautiful script, but a great challenge as well," he said. "The first conversation he and I had were about hero and villain and the two sides of trauma."
"I think that was really the seed from which everything else grew. You can’t just jump to the villain part of the madness. Taking it from there and slowly building his past to page one and how that gets you there and who he was without the mask and what the mask allows him to be."
Check out this first look at Riddler: Year One #1 below:
About The Author:
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.