‘Dark Knight Rises’: studio wanted Leonardo DiCaprio as the Riddler

Writer David Goyer reveals the Batman villains could have been very different

Leonardo DiCaprio was courted to play the Riddler in The Dark Knight Rises, it has emerged.

Christopher Nolan‘s hugely-anticipated Batman finale features Tom Hardy‘s Bane and Anne Hathaway‘s Catwoman as its main antagonists. But things could have been very different if Warner Bros had originally got their way.

Empire is reporting that in initial meetings, the studio wanted DiCaprio to play Batman’s wordy nemesis. Writer David Goyer remembers studio bosses suggesting the casting to him in 2008: “Obviously it’s gonna be The Riddler, and we want it to be Leonardo DiCaprio.”

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Along with the Penguin, the Riddler is the one of the most iconic Batman villains not to have featured in Nolan’s realist Gotham trilogy. As well as Catwoman and the Joker, the director has preferred to use lesser-known characters from the universe, such as the Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul and Bane.

The Riddler was played by Jim Carrey in 1995’s Batman Forever. DiCaprio ended up taking the lead in Nolan’s 2010 epic Inception. The Dark Knight Rises opens on June 20. You can watch the trailer below.

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