In a new profile piece on Paul Dano as part of the release of “Dumb Money” in cinemas, filmmaker Matt Reeves confirms the pair shot around 70-80 takes together of a key scene in “The Batman”.
The movie starred Dano as iconic Batman villain The Riddler. In this incarnation, The Riddler is Edward Nashton – a forensic accountant inspired by Batman to become a serial killer who targets elite Gotham citizens and live-stream his crimes.
The result is the Zodiac Killer-inspired character operates as almost a terrorist-like figure communicating with ciphers and riddles, and ultimately recruiting followers for the film’s big end set piece.
Speaking with The Guardian, Reeves revealed that the Riddler and Batman’s final confrontation in the 2022 film ended up being done dozens of times as both the actor and director “love doing a lot of takes”:
“We took two days on the final scene between him and Robert Pattinson as Batman. We must have easily done 70 or 80 takes. Paul loves exploring. He’s obsessive that way.
There were all these moments as the Riddler where he’d be tickled by something and then fly into a rage. You never knew from take to take where that switch would come.
I’d be sitting there with the headphones on, trying to stifle my laughter because he’d always do something surprising. Paul would ask me: ‘Was that crazy? Was that too much?’ I’d say: ‘No it’s fantastic. Let’s do another.'”
That fits in with a report last year when Reeves revealed that Dano had to record his voice for when the Riddler is heard over the phone. The actor subsequently recorded 200 takes.
Dano scored praise for his performance in the film, which was a box office hit with $771 million worldwide. A sequel is on the way for an October 2025 release.
