Paul Dano isn’t exactly a household name, yet. But it is highly unlikely that you wouldn’t recognize his face. From movies like 12 Years a Slave and Looper, Paul Dano has put a lot of films under his belt over the last 19 years since his debut in 2000 in The Newcomers.
Earlier today, reports on social media came flooding in that Dano has been cast in the highly anticipated ‘The Batman’ film as Edward Nygma, aka The Riddler. Taking a look at Twitter, fans are all over the place with the news. Since it is still just starting to make its reach, it’s too early to tell what the verdict is on just how the Twittersphere feels about it. But with Pattinson cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman, you can kind of guess which side it is leaning.
PAUL DANO IS THE #RIDDLER !!!!#THEBATMAN pic.twitter.com/PXsua1wUqQ
— Ryan (@LazerShow530) October 17, 2019
I want to point out that there certainly is a lot of discussion about the Batman franchise of films in general when it comes to abstract casting. Many fans are very quick to jump into pointing out that Heath Ledger was an underdog, of sorts, who no one thought could quite do the Joker right, and then blew all our minds with an amazing performance not seen since. However, the most important thing to say to those people is that while we are all always willing to give everyone a chance (for the most part), this excuse just does not hold up anymore. Not since Ledger has any casting been defended and then surprised us with delight. Instead, everyone says “consider Heath Ledger” and then we are all angry about how the movies and casting turned out. So, we probably can’t keep using the Ledger defense, since it’s blown up in our faces so many times.
Now I know what you are thinking, Phoenix and The Joker recently, but you I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that no one thought he couldn’t do it. In fact, everyone supported that casting choice. And then he nailed it
Can Dano’s performance stand out among the rest? Maybe. Possibly. But I do not feel like it will matter in the end with a franchise that seems doomed to fail from the start, considering how well DC’s cinematic universe is doing so far. And with Pattinson cast as Batman, just what could go wrong?
