The Dark Knight Writer Confirms The Batman Movie Villain Rumor You Heard Is True

Few superhero franchises are as stacked when it comes to villains as the Dark Knight trilogy. The critically acclaimed saga features Heath Ledger's Academy Award-winning performance as the Joker, Aaron Eckhart taking the role of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face, Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow, and Tom Hardy as Bane, just to name just some of the outstanding foes. According to Jonathan Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplays of "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises," alongside his brother (and director) Christopher Nolan, a different villain who never appeared in films was considered to show up.

In an appearance on the podcast "Happy Sad Confused" to promote Amazon Prime Video's "Fallout," Nolan was asked about what villains were considered for "The Dark Knight Rises" before landing on Bane. He said, "I sort of started playing with ideas with the Riddler and what could be done with the character. But it did feel like it was close enough to the space of what we'd done with Heath [Ledger] that you really needed to ... shift there." 

Nolan added that Bane brought something different to the film while fitting the project's post-apocalyptic tone. Ultimately, Riddler never appeared in the Dark Knight trilogy, but his lengthy absence in live-action Batman adaptations ended after Paul Dano portrayed the villain in Matt Reeves' "The Batman."

The Riddler wasn't the only villain from Batman's rogues gallery that was passed on at some point in the Dark Knight trilogy. In 2008, "Batman Begins" screenwriter David S. Goyer explained to Digital Spy he wanted to use characters who hadn't been in live-action before, which is why Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul and Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow are the primary antagonists. Goyer specifically mentioned Catwoman and Penguin as villains he didn't want to use right away, given their extensive history of appearances. Meanwhile, "The Dark Knight" landed on the Joker nearly from the get-go, as the iconic Clown Prince of Crime was a no-brainer to be the main antagonist in the sequel

In "The Dark Knight Rises," Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway, debuts in the universe. However, Bane's inclusion wasn't what the studio initially wanted. According to Goyer, Warner Bros. wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play the Riddler in the film, but the writer rebuffed the suggestion. Although, considering Jonathan Nolan mentions the Riddler was under serious consideration, it's safe to assume there was ample discussion about a potential role for the villain — even if Goyer didn't want to see it happen.

To read more about Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, check out the untold truth of the Dark Knight trilogy.