The There Will Be Blood and Little Miss Sunshine actor will star alongside Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz in a noirish take on the DC character

Paul Dano will take on the villainous role of the Riddler in The Batman, a new noirish take on the DC story.

The There Will Be Blood star, who was recently nominated for an Emmy for his performance in Escape from Dannemora, will join Robert Pattinson, playing Batman, and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. The Batman comes from the director of Cloverfield and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Matt Reeves, who is seeking to make a more grounded take on the character.

Zoë Kravitz to play Catwoman opposite Robert Pattinson's Batman Read more

Jonah Hill had been in talks for the role but recently decided against joining the project. The role of the Riddler was previously played by Jim Carrey in 1995’s Batman Forever. According to Warner Bros, the character will be known as Edward Nashton.

“What’s exciting about Batman is how it relates to now and also how personal it can be,” Reeves told the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “It’s very much a point-of-view-driven, noir Batman tale. It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional.”

The cast will also include Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, played by Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

Last year saw Dano’s directorial debut with drama Wildlife, starring Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s also attached to The Power of the Dog, the new film from Jane Campion that will also star Kirsten Dunst and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Media sources suggest The Batman will begin production late this year or early 2020 with a summer 2021 release date confirmed. The casting news follows the record-breaking box office success of Joker, which has made $548m worldwide since its 4 October release. Next year also sees the release of the sequel Wonder Woman 1984, as well as Birds of Prey, starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. She previously played the character in Suicide Squad, which made $746m worldwide.