July 21, 2010 | 10:26 am

Riddler rumor names Gordon-Levitt, again

Posted by Adam Wills

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The Riddler will be a villain in Chris Nolan’s next Batman installment, based on a source at Warner Bros. who claims to have read the casting grid for the film, according to First Showing. And the name of the “interested” actor listed on the grid to play said character: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, (500) Days of Summer). Then again, a similar rumor popped up in June, and Gordon-Levitt was rumored to have been a possible replacement for Heath Ledger’s Joker in 2008.

Still, who would you rather have as Riddler? Gordon-Levitt or Eddie Murphy?

We’d like to point out that this news should be considered confirmation that The Riddler is the villain in Batman 3 and less confirmation of the recent suggestions/rumors regarding Gordon-Levitt’s casting as the enigmatic villain. A casting grid is used in the industry to keep production companies, agencies, etc. in the loop on a project’s progress and the roles available for actors to potentially take. These documents are used for business planning in the industry and by no means would use internet speculation to list a character that may not even appear in the film. But when it comes to listing actors, this is info that can change at anytime, and just because an actor or studio is interested in one or the other, does not mean it will actually happen.

We’re also cautious because the age range listed for the character is 35 to 45, and with Gordon-Levitt being 29 years old falls a little short of the mark. Of course, this wouldn’t really be a reason for him to be excluded as characters can be modified in the script to accommodate a favored actor. On the lighter side though, the actor is fresh off working with Nolan on the brilliant Inception, so they’ve surely developed quite a working relationship as Gordon-Levitt called him “the genuine article… a real artist” and “a unique voice.” For now we’ll consider Gordon-Levitt’s involvement a rumor, but seeing The Riddler in a studio casting grid is solid confirmation of Nolan’s villain for Batman 3. Hopefully we’ll get an official confirmation sooner than later. [First Showing]