‘The Batman’ actor Paul Dano says superhero fatigue can lead to better comic book movies

LOS ANGELES: Actor Paul Dano, who played the Riddler in 'The Batman', has talked about superhero fatigue and said it can lead to better films or alternative stories.

The actor has spoken after ‘The Flash’, ‘The Marvels’, and the latest release ‘Madame Web’, received a lukewarm response at the box-office, reported by deadline.com.

“It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to go like, ‘OK - what now?’ Hopefully from that, somebody either breathes new life into (comic book movies), or something else blossoms which is not superheroes,” Dano told The Independent.

“I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment,” he added.

Dano continued: “It’s a larger thing, too. As soon as the word ‘content’ came into what we do -- meaning making movies or TV -- it meant quantity over quality, which I think was a big misstep. And I certainly don’t need that as a viewer or as an artist.”

He shared why ‘The Batman’ by Matt Reeves, despite being a superhero film, was accepted.

“There are enough comic book movies where you just know what you’re gonna get. Reading the script for 'The Batman', you knew it was a real film. Every sentence… that’s just (writer/director) Matt Reeves,” he said.

Robert Pattinson-starrer ‘The Batman’ sequel is slated to release on October 3, 2025.