His character sang "Jingle bells, Batman smells" in director Denis Villeneuve's 2013 film, Prisoners, which starred Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Now actor Paul Dano, who played an eccentric young man suspected of kidnapping two young girls in Prisoners, has been unveiled by Warner Bros on Thursday (Oct 17) as the villain Edward Nashton/Riddler, a longtime enemy of the Caped Crusader, in the upcoming Batman movie.

Dano nabs the role as two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill reportedly passed on the part after being in talks for the role of Riddler or Penguin, another Batman foe.

The new Batman movie, scheduled to be released in June 2021, will be directed by Matt Reeves, who is behind Cloverfield (2008) and two Planet Of The Ape movies (2014 and 2017).

It will star Robert Pattinson of Twilight (2008 to 2012) fame as Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Batman's foe/love interest Catwoman and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon.

Dano, who was recently nominated for an Emmy for his role as convicted murderer David Sweat in limited series Escape At Dannemora (2018), is also known for his roles in movies such as Looper (2012), 12 Years A Slave (2013) and Okja (2017).

He made his directorial debut with the movie Wildlife (2018), which starred Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan and was based on the novel of the same name by author Richard Ford.

The Riddler has previously been played by Frank Gorshin and John Astin in the 1960s television series Batman, and by Jim Carrey in the 1995 film Batman Forever.