Because of Jim Carrey! The Riddler in “Batman Forever” was written for a completely different actor

Paul Dano recently played a memorable version of the Riddler in The Batman. Caught between the playful psychopathy of The Joker and the tactical terror of Christopher Nolan’s Bane, Dano delivered a dark update on one of the DC Universe’s most intriguing villains. The Riddler didn’t even appear in Nolan and Zack Snyder’s previous live-action movies. He last appeared in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever in 1995.

With his ‘Batman’ films, Tim Burton had stylistically differentiated himself from the Adam West show and allowed Gotham to flourish in a dark goth style. With “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” Schumacher refocused on the shrill, silly tone the dark knight had for Burton. The Riddler was the perfect opponent for this colorful spectacle.

Jim Carrey’s version of Batman Forever is fundamentally different from Dano’s version. Not only is the design more vibrant, but Carrey’s performance is less nuanced and much more exciting. You can see from the design of the role that after the success of Jack Nicholson’s Joker, Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, they wanted to develop an antagonist who would become just as iconic. Carrey’s Riddler was also designed as a cult figure. But it wasn’t the only challenge the actor faced…

Robin Williams Connections to the Batman Universe

First, there was Frank Gorshin’s portrayal of Riddler from the 1960s TV show that Carrey had to compete with. Batman Forever’s design borrowed heavily from Gorshin’s appearance. There was a sense of turning a crowd favorite into one of the main villains of a large-scale film adaptation. On the other hand, Carrey faced personal competition. None except that Robin Williams almost took over the role of the Riddler. That Williams was a serious option for the Batman universe was long established.

He was already offered the role of the Joker. However, this was just an industry ploy to make Nicholson more palatable for the part, like Williams in one Interview in the early 1990s explained. At the same time, he expressed interest in playing the Riddler. It would have been a kind of childhood dream come true for Williams, as he did leading up to “Batman Forever”. Weekly entertainment explained: “I loved Batman growing up (…). I just wait for the script and if it fits, I’ll sign it.”

The Riddler was written especially for Robin Williams!

A little later it was announced that not Williams, but Jim Carrey had signed the contract. It was suspected that Williams resigned from the role because he feared that Tommy Lee Jones would overshadow him with his performance as Two-Face. While Carrey seems like a perfect fit for a flashy Riddler, it would have been interesting to see what Williams would have made of the character.

Precisely because the role was literally written for him, just like screenwriter Lee Batchler The Hollywood Reporters shared: “We wrote The Riddler with Robin’s voice in mind. He read our script and loved it, but the deal just fell through. As for Jim Carrey, he executed our script really well. He was just a little less Robin Williams. It was a bit more straightforward.’ So the Riddler would be even more intense? Hardly imaginable!