A rumor that Johnny Depp has been approached to play The Riddler in the next Batman film has been kicking around the internet for a few days now. Is this true or merely a case of internet gossip?

Well it’s to early to get a definitive answer either way. But regardless the very notion of Johnny Depp as The Riddler is something worth pondering. While he certainly wasn’t at the top of my list of likely actors to play The Riddler, Depp is a excellent choice. A look at Depp’s impressive resume shows that he has a knack for playing quirky characters and in all of Batman’s rogues gallery perhaps no villain is quirkier then The Riddler.

From a star power standpoint signing Depp onto the next Batman film would be a huge deal for Warner Brothers. Having Depp involved with the project would surely bring in a certain segment of viewers that would otherwise not go see the movie. Personally I am a big Johnny Depp fan as several of his films rank high up on my all time favorite list. In the past I have wondered what it would be like to see Depp involved in the Batman movie franchise somehow and if this rumor turns out to truth then I will finally be able to see that happen.

Most sites that report the news regarding Depp also attach on the announcement of another possible villain. Word is that Philip Seymour Hoffman will be brought on to play The Penguin. Now when I first read that part of the story I was instantly skeptical. Why? Because I remember reading somewhere that Nolan was against using The Penguin under the belief he wasn’t realistic enough to portray in the serious nature of the Nolan Batman movie universe.

So assuming that both Nolan’s comments and the Hoffman rumor are true, then that can only mean one of two things. Either Nolan had a change of heart about Penguin or Nolan isn’t going to be directing the next film.

I think I’m going to stop this post soon before I start going off on wild speculating tangents. The bottom line here is that news is already starting to hit about the next Batman movie. We best catch our breath now before we get sucked into another ocean of Batman movie hype.