In the wake of recent underwhelming box office performances from superhero films like The Flash, The Marvels, and Madame Web, actor Paul Dano, who portrayed the villainous Riddler in last year’s critically acclaimed The Batman, has shared his thoughts on the phenomenon of superhero fatigue plaguing the genre.
Dano, while promoting his upcoming film Spaceman, expressed optimism about the potential impact of this fatigue on the industry. “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,” he told The Independent.
The actor acknowledged the broader issue of prioritizing quantity over quality in the entertainment industry, stating, “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.”
Dano also offered insight into the success of The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, which bucked the trend of superhero film underperformance. “There are enough comic book movies where you just know what you’re gonna get,” he said. “Reading the script for The Batman, you knew it was a real film. Every sentence… that’s just [writer/director] Matt Reeves.”
As audiences await the highly anticipated sequel to The Batman, scheduled for release on October 3, 2025, with Robert Pattinson reprising his role as the Caped Crusader, the industry watches closely to see if Dano’s prediction of a renaissance in superhero storytelling or the emergence of alternative genres will come to fruition.