Johnny Depp to play The Riddler in “Dark Knight” Sequel?

With “The Dark Knight“ bringing in over $400 million for Warner Brothers, it’s no surprise that everyone is trying to figure out the casting of the sequel.

Speculations of Batman’s future villains apparently have moved on from which foes to be featured in the possible follow-up of “The Dark Knight” to who are going to portray them.

It was recently reported that Angelina Jolie has been talking to studio executives about taking the role of Catwoman in the sequel to “The Dark Knight.”

UK’s Daily Telegraph has quoted their unnamed source who said that Warner Bros is targeting Johnny Depp to play The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman to take the role of The Penguin. The role of the Riddler has previously been tackled by Frank Gorshin in the television version of Batman, with Jim Carrey wearing the question-mark covered tights in Batman Forever. Meanwhile, the Penguin was handled on television by the incomparable Burgess Meredith, and a distinctively disgusting Penguin was played by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns.

“[Producers] are convinced that the role of the Riddler is perfect for Depp,” said a source. “Johnny’s a pro. He’ll be able to take direction from director Chris Nolan and still make the character his own.

“Dark Knight” Breaks Box Office Record!

“The Dark Knight” swooped into theaters to gross a record $18.5 million from midnight preview screenings ahead of its official opening on Friday, according to distributor Warner Bros.

WB reported that the $18.5 million did not include 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM.

The film opened at midnight and that single session pulled in $18.2 million, outgrossing Fox’s “Star Wars, Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith” midnight screenings which took in $16.9 million in 2005. Estimates for the weekend are now in flux with the $151 million three-day opening weekend record set by “Spider-Man 3″ looking likely to fall.

A $100 million “Dark Knight” debut would more than double the $47 million opening gross averaged by the five previous Batman movies released by Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Those films have collectively have amassed over $1.6 billion in ticket sales worldwide since 1989, according to box office tracking service Media By Numbers.

The fortunes of “Dark Knight,” which cost about $180 million to produce, were further brightened by mostly positive reviews and a record wide release in 4,366 U.S. and Canadian theaters. Read the rest of this entry