Stephen Colbert to Play The Riddler? The Momentum Builds!
Since Tuesday September 1st, I have received a steady stream of emails about my Huffington Post piece on why Stephen Colbert should play the Riddler in the upcoming Batman movie. It's pretty clear that my recommendation resonated with Colbert Nation.
Picture Courtesy of Comedy Central
Stephen Colbert, yes, the man, the myth, the legend, linked my post to the front page of his Colbert Nation site. Wow. I literally fell out of my chair. And apparently, the notion of Colbert as the Riddler made such a strong impression with some bloggers and journalists that it was also linked to entertainment sites like The Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Showhype, Daylife, Mahalo, WhoRepresents, Newsrunner, and, even quite a few Twitter feeds.
Yes, I am dead serious! A man of tremendous intellect should play The Riddler. Tell me that's not Stephen Colbert. You can't, because deep in your heart, you know Colbert's got the complete package of comic timing, creativity, audacity, and that indefinable "it" to pull off a portrayal of such a multi-layered villain.
We know Stephen Colbert as a brilliant comic, using his expansive reservoir of humor to slash through the endless political spin. But, he's also done some truly riveting dramatic work on shows like Law & Order. Colbert's powerfully versatile resume is proof he can play The Riddler. Such a character is best suited for Colbert because he can give dimension to the Riddler's almost Shakespearean existence and high-octane brilliance.
Can't you see Cobert's Riddler getting hot and bothered with The Catwoman, or battling Batman in duel after duel all over Gotham City? Yes, you can. So join me in urging Warner Brothers to select Stephen Colbert as The Riddler! Ticket sales would go through the roof!
Read my previous post: Riddle Me This: Why Not Let Stephen Colbert Play the Riddler?
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Hey Colbert fans...the movement to get Stephen the role as "The Riddler" just got the support from the influential website ComicVine, its comic guru Daniel Miesner. They looked at my posts on Huffpost and wrote a piece exploring how Stephen could pull it off. Here is their assessment: http://www
Yes, things are lookin' good! It's a good time to be Stephen Colbert.
I sincerely appreciate everyone's responses - those for and against Stephen getting the part. Only from debate and disagreement can consensus come about. And I believe that consensus will be: "Stephen Colbert should play The Riddler"!
Let's keep up great work!
While I am a fan of Colbert, I think Hugh Laurie would be absolutely phenomenal as the Riddler. Besides, every rumor about the villains in the next movie that has a shred of credibility has Johnny Depp as the Riddler and Phillip S. Hoffman as the Penguin. It's not confirmed yet and I could be wrong (I hope I am, I am getting tired of Depp). I think HL could bring the most to the table.
get outta town with that hugh laurie stuff, colbert was born to riddle us this. we earned it. we've been good, it's our turn now. hugh laurie. he's good and all, but this is the first i am hearing about the colbert as riddler campaign, and i am so down with the idea i am underground
What, Laurie? He's good and all, but it's gotta be Colbert saying "Riddle me this!" That would be so much fun; i am sure he would inject some of that colbert sparkle into the role.
Hey guys...the person to contact at Warner is David Hyde, who is in the DC COMICS division of Warner Studios. Email him here: dccomics.c
And him know you want Stephen Colbert to play The Riddler! Let's make history guys.
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I had a talk with my grandmother this morning, and she believes Stephen Colbert would rock the house! She said if he was paired with anyone, make it The Catwoman. And she agreed with me that either Angelina Jolie or Ali Larter (from the show Heroes) would be great picks to play The Catwoman.
I'm telling you, Cobert is a force of nature with the "je ne se quois" to make a portrayal of The Riddler absolutely stunning. He would make the next Batman sequel even better than Spiderman 2, which I believe is the best super hero movie ever! It's gotta happen!
agreed!
Fans of Batman and Colbert alike would love this.If you are not into either Batman or Colbert..y
"e ...Colbert could pull off a villain with a lot of personality but as far as physical acrobatics
Again, I direct you to this video:
http://www
The man is a dancing fool.
Great idea 2morrowknight. Absolutely fabulous idea!
Someone on this thread suggested that Colbert would take the Batman franchise back to the "campy" 60s series. I have to disagree.
I am aware that Colbert has done some truly great work in episodes of Law & Order. He was awesome. The point of your two posts on Colbert as the Riddler is something that poster didn't get: that Colbert has the diverse acting chops to play a tortured, maniacal villain with a twisted sense of humor. No one has disproven this. No one.
Colbert is a very serious, classy, and brilliant man who could really add some uber sophistication to The Riddler. He dresses his butt off on his show, and he could take the character in new directions and to new heights.
And one great thing working for Colbert is that unlike Johnny Depp, Colbert would NOT ask for $20 million plus 10% of the box office receipts. The franchise would save money, and would make more money than they ever have.
Lastly, how many people thought Heath Ledger would be a great Joker based on his body of work? Not many. How many people thought Hugh Jackman would be a great Wolverine based on his previous body of work? Not many. So the naysayers need to spare us the slings and arrows being thrown in Colbert's direction.
Colbert the man. He can play The Riddler. His portrayal would wow Hollywood. Deal with it!
Great idea 2morrowknight. Absolutely fabulous idea!
Someone on this thread suggested that Colbert would take the Batman franchise back to the "campy" 60s series. I have to disagree.
I am aware that Colbert has done some truly great work in episodes of Law & Order. He was awesome. The point of your two posts on Colbert as the Riddler is something that poster didn't get: that Colbert has the diverse acting chops to play a tortured, maniacal villain with a twisted sense of humor. No one has disproven this. No one.
Colbert is a very serious, classy, and brilliant man who could really add some uber sophistication to The Riddler. He dresses his butt off on his show, and he could take the character in new directions and to new heights.
And one great thing working for Colbert is that unlike Johnny Depp, Colbert would ask for $20 million plus 10% of the box office receipts. The franchise would save money, and would make more money than they ever have.
Lastly, how many people thought Heath Ledger would be a great Joker based on his body of work? Not many. How many people thought Hugh Jackman would be a great Wolverine based on his previous body of work? Not many. So the naysayers need to spare us the slings and arrows being thrown in Colbert's direction.
Colbert the man. He can play The Riddler. His portrayal would wow Hollywood. Deal with it!
No. Hell no! No way!!
If we were talking a remake of the campy 60s Batman, then yes, Colbert would be perfect. He's funny and clever. But Chris Nolan has taken Batman to a dramatic place that I like far more than the yucks I get from watching Adam West in the 60s show. Colbert does not fit in that world, any more than a Joker played for laughs, Cesar Romero style. Not after Heath Ledger.
Casting Colbert would take the franchise back into Joel Schumacher territory. How could anyone think that was a good idea?
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On the Colbert Nation message board, someone juxtaposed a picture of Colbert and the Riddler, and it works so well. Check it out: http://for
Glenn Beck needs to play the Riddler, because his "knowledge is a riddle, and so are his ratings.
i nominate Beck to play the Penguin.
Personally, I hope is a very long time indeed before we see the Riddler (or the Penguin, or Catwoman,) in a new Batman movie. These characters have been done to death, or have been done definitively. Having said that, however, it would be fun to see Colbert as a Batman villain -- maybe Black Mask or the Mad Hatter?
Mad Hatter would be GENIUS.
http://en.
Actually the main thing arguing against it would be working the shooting schedule in with doing his show. There just aren't enough days and hours.
The other thing is that the Riddler isn't really a comic character any more than the Joker is. They think that they are funny, but the rest of the world, and the audience, doesn't.
And finally, probably more than any other character in the Batman universe excepr perhaps Catwoman the Joker demands an extremely physical actor. Colbert's strengths are mostly in the ability to deadpan it.
I really liked your point about the Riddler character thinking he was funny. I found them to be quite annoying, narcassitic and crimanally insane. Colbert can play that in a deadpan sort of way, hands down.
You have some great points as well, but I think they could probably easily shoot around Colbert's schedule. It's been done before, when they really consider someone. A new audience for the Colbert-sta and the Batman series, would really freshen it up and make it not so pridictable, like they did when they chose Ledger. Ledger was edgy and truly off the hook!
I also think Colbert's strengths is just the type of sophisticated humor a more sophisticate "Batman" series needs.
Not a bad idea, I like Colbert a lot, but it would be difficult for a lot of people to get beyond his TV persona. I nominate Jeff Goldblum.
He is smart and can be sinister in a quiet way, he could take the character in a new direction, away from the traditional reading of the Riddler.
I once thought that Anthony Hopkins could have played a great Riddler, if he had been used in the follow-up to Burton's first Batman. Now, too old. To play the Riddler, that is!
Goldblum - yeah, that could work. But I say again: not Colbert.
Goldblum is too old now.
Johnny Depp or Kevin Spacey should play the Riddler.
Spacey -yes-Depp -NO! Depp needs to stay out of the franchise.
I'm having trouble seeing him play opposite Christian Bale's gruffy voiced, brooding, tortured persona. I am not a fan of the last one. I thought it was too dark, there was zero comedic relief, and I was not impressed with katie Holmes replacement. After watching the Dark Knight once, once was enough, and I almost made the mistake of making it a first date movie. So, basically, if they plan to continue to make disturbing Batman movies, I don't see how Stephen Colbert's comedic talents might come into play, of course that might not be important, but I can put it together, SC and The DARK KNIGHT, I guess I would find it hard to see SC as an equally DARK character when I know him as the icon he is, a shining light of brilliant truth in this world of DARKNESS we live in today. I think he could have done a Jim Carrey kooky kind of villian, but not like H Ledger played the Joker. The last Batman was closer to a Hannibal Lecter movie than a 'super- hero', good over evil tale.
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