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It looks like Robert Pattinson's Batman has found his first foe.
Jonah Hill had previously been rumored to be in the mix to join The Batman as a villain, but now his connection is looking more official. According to a new report from Variety , the movie's producers wanted Hill for the part even prior to casting Pattinson in the lead role, and are now aiming to bring the former Wolf of Wall Street star into the fold. It's not yet a done deal, but "both sides are engaging on Hill joining," according to the report.
While the previous report suggested that Hill was in the mix to play The Penguina role played by Danny DeVito in Batman Returnsa report from Collider suggests that Hill is being eyed to play The Riddler. This would make sense, as that role was previously played by an impressive actor with a comedic background, when Jim Carrey took on the part in Batman Forever; the Collider report says that Hill has long looked up to Carrey as a hero.
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OK, here goes: I hear that Jonah Hill has long admired Jim Carrey, and how he transitioned from comedies to more dramatic roles, which Jonah has also done with his career. Plus, Riddler in Forever not as iconic as Penguin in Returns, so easier to reinvent. https://t.co/20gatb5hfC Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider)
Hill and Carrey have followed very similar career trajectories. Where Carrey began mostly with comedies like Ace Ventura, and Liar, Liar, he eventually made his way to more cerebral, emotional work like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Hill rose to prominence with crude comedies like Superbad and Knocked Up before earning Oscar nominations for more serious turns in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street.
His Oscar-nominated roles aside, Hill has shown a talent for playing dark characters. In True Story, he played a journalist whose life intertwined with a dangerous murderer. In War Dogs, he played a boorish arms dealer, and in the Netflix series Maniac, he delivered a heartbreaking depiction of an everyman dealing with crippling depression. Hill's range has been proven at this point, and should he get the opportunity to give a unique take on a classic villain, it would seem to be a mistake to doubt his ability.
The Variety report also states that Jeffrey Wright, who currently stars in Westworld and plays Felix Leiter in the Daniel Craig 007 movies, is close to officially signing on to play Commissioner Gordon. Wright acknowledged his involvement with a tweet Monday night.
https://t.co/xUQGdWQWPZ Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright)
It was also rumored that two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali was in the running for the Commissioner Gordon role (something we also pushed for in our The Batman dream cast a few months ago), but his joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as their new Blade took him out of that running.
Fun little fact to all the BATMAN news, prior to going out to Wright, Mahershala was in line for the role...and then BLADE came around Justin Kroll (@krolljvar)
Even with Hill and Wright joining Pattinson in the fold for The Batman, director Matt Reeves still has quite a bit of work ahead of him to fill out the cast. The movie is expected to start filming later this fall, and its release date has been pegged for June 25, 2021.