Depp to play the RIddler?

[Pale Blue Dot]

Johnny Depp is tipped to play Batman villain The Riddler in the next installment of the comic book movie series. After the huge success of The Dark Knight, which has taken $440 million at the worldwide box office, producers are confident they can convince Depp to take on Christian Bale's Batman on the big screen. And, according to the National Enquirer, studio bosses also want Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman onboard to play another of the Caped Crusader's arch-foe, the Penguin. The Riddler was played on the small screen in the 1960s by Frank Gorshin and in 1995 movie Batman Forever by Jim Carrey. Hoffman would be stepping into the shoes of TV and movie Penguins Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito. A source tells the Enquirer, "(Producers) are convinced that the role of the Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny's a pro. He'll be able to take direction from director Chris Nolan and still make the character his own. "And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman."

http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2008-07-31/celeb/8

[TroglodyteScholar]

1. I really love Philip S Hoffman, but...

...I hope he doesn't end up playing a Batman villain. It's beneath him.

[DarkTirade]

3. Are you kidding? That kind of thing is when a serious actor really gets to have some fun.

Just because he CAN do high-class stuff doesn't mean he HAS to do it all the time. Every good actor needs to let off steam with something like that now and then. Hell, look at the X-Men movies... lots of great actors mixed in there. Certainly none of them giving career-defining performances... but they sure as hell looked like they were having fun. :)

[TroglodyteScholar]

7. No, I'm not kidding

I mean, I really liked Hoffman as Brandt in The Big Lebowski--That wasn't below him because it was a subtly hilarious character in a great film. The Penguin? Danny DeVito could do that, ffs (and has). Guess I'm biased, though, because I really don't care for comic books or comic book themed movies, either.

[SoxFan]

6. Beneath him?

Ian McKellen, a Tony, Olivier, Golden Globe, and SAG Award winner?
Jack Nicholson?
Michelle Pfeiffer, a Golden Globe winner and a three-time Oscar nominee?

[Godhumor]

11. He played the villain in Mission Impossible III

There is no role beneath him now.

[LynneSin]

27. I think PSH would be great as the Penguin

he has the acting chops to pull off the fowled shape villian. And like Ledger, he has big shoes to fill - Danny DeVito rocked as the Penguin just like Jack Nicholson did. So if you're going to rehash some of these memorable Batman villians you'll need extremely talented actors to come in and pull this off. PSH is definately one of them.

As for Depp redoing the Riddler - I have to say that Jim Carrey's Riddler was a bit of a disappointment.

[geomon666]

2. It's BS from The Enquirer.

There hasn't even been a script written yet nor has Warner Bros. even green lit a 3rd project yet.

[MonkeyFunk]

17. There's no way there WON'T be another one

It's on track to be the biggest movie of all time. They're not walking away from that franchise.

[geomon666]

18. The ball is firmly in Chris Nolan's court.

They're just waiting on him.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. Bingo!!

:toast:

ka-ching, ka-ching!

[LostInAnomie]

4. I really, really, really hope the new Batman franchise doesn't include the Riddler.

The Riddler is too fucking cartoonish and corny for this new franchise. It's dark and gritty. It doesn't need some jack-ass saying "Riddle me this...".

They need to steer clear of Catwoman too.

[skooooo]

5. Forget that, I want to see him as Barnabas Collins in the..

...upcoming Dark Shadows movie!

[Redneck Socialist]

8. Ugh...

Johnny Depp's too much Johnny Depp these days. It's hard to watch him without going "Wow, I'm watching Johnny Depp."

I think the Riddler could be done well if they move away from the Adam West Riddler type. Make him a super genious profiler working for the cops who feels driven to unmask the Batman. The cops don't appreciate his genious so he turns to crime in order to pit himself against the Batman. There are several ways you could introduce the Riddler and not have him come across as completely campy.

I'd love to see the Catwoman in the next movie, but I don't think the character's enough to base the entire film around.

[SidneyCarton]

15. I could see the Riddler being cast more on the lines of the Zodiac Killer.

A genius sociopath, who toys with everyone, including Batman. Not quite as nihilistic as the Joker, he may actually have a plan, or at least a grand design, beyond just causing chaos.

[Initech]

9. Dont bring back the Riddler!

Now they're just fucking remaking all the old Batman movies! Come up with some original villains for once!

[Danger Mouse]

12. There's plenty of good villains that have NOT been used.

Notable Hush, Black Mask, Killer Croc, Clayface, and many others.

[DS1]

10. Aside from Joker and Two-Face

Two-Face I thought could have been yanked from the movie and they could have gone with "The Joker Show" I'd rather not see anymore retreads. Especially Penguin. That's just so lame.

[Danger Mouse]

13. Nolan's already said the Penguin's out. I highly doubt the Riddler would be used.

So far, all of the batman villains have been done very well. Ra's Al Ghul was always my favorite, and I thought Liam Neeson was great. Scarecrow, Joker, Two-Face, all great.

[ccharles000]

14. Depp is ugly.

[jobycom]

21. Isn't that him in your sig li.... Oh, never mind.

:rofl:

No George Clooney, no Johnny Depp... You don't like old men!!!

[ccharles000]

22. ...

;)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. no he aint

[datasuspect]

16. i think they should option a treatment of the "batman meets the hippies"

episode from the 60s series.

they said "batman is groovy!" and he did the batdance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1RqxHQOG7w

[galledgoblin]

20. if Riddler is one of the villains,

then it'll be Mr. Reese from TDK.

[geomon666]

23. Actually it won't.

That's been debunked.

[NewJeffCT]

24. Please don't do two villains, please

The first two spider-man movies were good because they had one villain - Green Goblin and then Doc Ock. The 3rd one sucked because it had Sandman and Venom.

The Batman movie with Keaton was decent because it had just Jack Nicholson as The Joker, but after that, the other movies sucked because they went with Catwoman & Penguin in #2...and two villains in all the movies.

[Mr. Blonde]

25. I like both of those actors for both of those characters

I would like to see Dr. Hugo Strange in the next one. Not sure who I would have play him though.