WB Wanted Leonardo DiCaprio as
Riddler in The Dark Knight Rises?

 

It turns out those persistent early rumors that The Riddler would be the villain in the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy may not have been entirely unsubstantiated.

In an interview with Empire magazine (via Batman-News), co-writer David S. Goyer revealed Warner Bros. executives knew as far back as 2008 which DC Comics rogue they wanted for The Dark Knight Rises, and which A-list star they’d like to play him.

“It’s gonna be The Riddler,” Goyer heard them say at the premiere of The Dark Knight, “and we want it to be Leonardo DiCaprio.”

Coincidentally, DiCaprio was in the running for the role of Robin in 1995′s Batman Forever, which featured Jim Carrey as The Riddler. Presumably, Nolan changed the studio’s mind about the direction of The Dark Knight. That, or 14 years and two Academy Award nominations later, DiCaprio told executives he still wasn’t interested in visiting Gotham City. I’d better on the former, though.

Opening July 20, The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale as Batman, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Tom Hardy as Bane, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.