Composer Hans Zimmer Wants to See The Riddler in The Dark Knight Sequel
Posted 03.19.10 by BrentJS
Now that Christopher Nolan has confirmed that he will return to direct a third movie in his revamped Batman franchise, the next question on the minds of many comic book movie fans is which villain from Batman's Rogues Gallery will be the main antagonist in Batman 3. Early fan speculation had pegged The Riddler as the front-runner for the sequel to The Dark Knight, and fake Riddler movie posters are still frequently popping up online.
Actor Michael Caine, who played Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's (played by Christian Bale) loyal butler, confidante and father figure, helped to spark The Riddler rumors back in September 2008 when he told MTV that Johnny Depp would be playing the Riddler in Batman 3. Now, another high-profile person connected to the Batman franchise has made mention of The Riddler. In a recent interview with MTV, Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer, who composed the scores for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, said that he would like to see Batman's quizzical nemesis appear in the third installment.
For me, I'd have an enormous amount of fun with The Riddler. There is such a wealth of fun to be had with a character like that.
In the article, MTV is quick to point out that Zimmer doesn't have any actual say about the villain that will appear in the movie. However, Zimmer did say that Nolan usually gives him an early heads-up about the main villain so that he can start thinking about how to score the movie. And, with Nolan's brother, Jonathan, currently working on the Batman 3 script, Zimmer should know who the villain is soon, if he doesn't already.
Once I knew [The Dark Knight villain] was The Joker, I started to get a sense of what it could be, more than what it shouldn't be. Chris and I have this interesting way of getting together, throwing ideas around causally, and then slowly one little Lego piece comes together and another falls off and another comes together.
In the DC comic books on which the Batman movies are based, The Riddler is the alter-ego of Edward Nigma, a brilliant man who commits crimes to flaunt his intellectual superiority. His plots and plans are often so elaborate that not even Batman would be able to figure them out, except for the fact that The Riddler is driven by the obsessive compulsion to leave behind clues or riddles that inevitably lead to his downfall.