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Paul Dano Reveals How the Zodiac Killer Inspired His Role as the Riddler

Late Night with Seth Meyers | August 10, 2025



Paul Dano talks about playing a wholesome character after his role as a villain in The Batman and shares how the role impacted his personal life.

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Paul Dano Reveals How the Zodiac Killer Inspired His Role as the Riddler – Late Night with Seth Meyers
https://youtu.be/ezjKbS2r7wY

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Written by Late Night with Seth Meyers

Comments

This post currently has 31 comments.

  3. @bdsjr32

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    When the Zodiac Killer is finally discovered, I'll bet we find out that the Riddler persona found in the August 1948 Batman comic, where he is introduced, was the Zodiac's own inspiration as a youth. Read that thing and you'll know what I am talking about. I suspect that the Zodiac has since long passed away but that monstrous piece of human excrement would absolutely love how this thing came full circle.

  6. @edwardnashtonsglasses

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    i ordered the 12 inch mcfarlane toys riddler figure and it arrived yesterday, my mum keeps calling it ‘evil’ and saying she doesn’t like it LMAO

    anyway, luv paul and luv the riddler <3

  9. @Waltermelona

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    Its sad he keeps himself from saying some stuff cus of how easily misinterpreted and cancelled u get on the internet now ): this is what no concept of nuance whatsoever does

  10. @93Hiroko

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    When he turned around in the Batman in the coffee shop and I saw how adorable he was 🤭 I was like in love with him ever since. And yet i was horrified by the terrible things his character does. whenever he was back in his diguise I was frightened of this plausible deranged highly intelligent killer who’s smart enough to take down the whole downtown NYC looking Gotham within a matter of minutes.

  15. @abcdefghi2749

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    This is such an underrated film. The whole singular idea, by Matt Reeves, that this is a man who is unhinged and unhealthily obsessed with fighting the criminal element at night who is constantly beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands and with his unlimited amount of vast resources at his disposal. All he sees in the criminal element, in this corrupt town that his family helped to build and found dating back to the late 1800s, are the people who killed his parents as a young child making him an orphan.

    So, he dons the mantle of that which he fears the most, in the form of the Batman, after training for the majority of his life to rid his city of the evil that took his parent's lives. He dosen't know who was responsible for killing Thomas and Martha Wayne so every criminal he sees, to him, is the criminal that killed his parents on that fateful night when he was only 10 years old. He is addicted to this mission, like a drug, so as both Bruce and Batman, he spends all of his time, trying to succeed in this impossible task he has set up for himself. That's why he never sees the light of day as Billionaire Bruce Wayne and is a social outcast and pariah. He is a man driven by vengeance; by revenge. By the end of this journey, as we see Bruce on a physical, mental, emotional and psychological level and transform from a young, naive, impatient man who makes mistakes still early in his career as a crime fighter we see him then become something else by the end…a symbol of hope, an ideal, a form of inspiration that makes criminals terrified to step out at night and commit their atrocities that makes Gotham City one of the worst places to call home. A city with a history and a foundation steeped in corruption and crime that ties back to the Wayne family and and their vast fortune. It also plants the seeds that will give him the inspiration to step out in the light of day to transform into the billionaire, playboy industrialist more interested in dating models and driving fast cars in order to hide in plain sight so no one would be able to distinguish Bruce Wayme is actually the Batman. A man consumed by vengeance who transforms into a symbol of hope. Obviously a film inspired by the comic book mythos and Arkham video game series and Batman animated series from the 1990s.
    Ironically, a film consisting of character arc transformations and worldbuilding moments that is actually one of the most faithful Batman comic book movies to the original source material in the 1940s. Such as Detective comics issue 27 from 1937 and batman issue 1 in 1940 created by Bob kane, Bill finger and Jerry Robinson.

    Then, the new 52 comics such as court of owls and Zero year by tomeu morey, john ottley, Jim lee, Scott Snyder. Batman year one by jim lee, David Mazuchelli and Frank miller as well as Batman: the long halloween and Batman: ego and other tales. This essay is lterally just scratching the surface of why it's actually one of the best batman films yet up their with the likes of the Dark knight from 2008.

  22. @cesarce5184

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    Paul Dano did an unbeliaveble act with the Riddler… Its was so insane how much perfect the psycopath was made and the acting was insanely incredible and fun to watch. Such an inspirational actor!

  24. @BritishEggz

    August 10, 2025 at 2:39 pm

    I genuinely preferred Paul Dano instead of a joker
    He played the role so well
    My Cheeks were clenched for the whole movie
    And the ending it’s the riddler had my absolutely giggling out of excitement

Comments are closed.

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