Paul Dano is familiar with the comic book movie genre thanks to his acclaimed performance as Riddler opposite Robert Pattinson in “The Batman.” The Matt Reeves-directed tentpole was a box office hit with $772 million worldwide. That’s a mighty sum for the superhero genre, which took more than a few punches last year as entires like “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash,” “The Marvels,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” either disappointed at the box office or outright flopped. Does that mean superhero fatigue is real?
“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 recently told The Independent when asked about superhero fatigue. “I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment.”
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.”
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So why did “The Batman” not get affected by superhero fatigue? “There are enough comic book movies where you just know what you’re gonna get,” Dano said. “Reading the script for ‘The Batman,’ you knew it was a real film. Every sentence… that’s just Matt Reeves.”
While promoting “The Marvels” last fall, director Nia DaCosta told Total Film magazine that “superhero fatigue absolutely exists.” But that’s not the reason why many directors think certain comic book films fail at the box office.
“I don’t believe it’s super superhero fatigue, I believe it’s ‘a movie that feels like a movie I’ve seen a dozen times before’ fatigue,” said “Spider-Verse” producer and writer Phil Lord to Rolling Stone last year. “If you’re using the same story structure and the same style and the same tone and the same vibe as movies and shows that have come before, it doesn’t matter what genre it is. It’s going to be boring to people.”
James Gunn also told Rolling Stone that “I think there is such a thing as superhero fatigue. I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes. It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball, which is character. We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they’re these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense onscreen, it gets really boring.”
As for Dano’s future in the genre, it’s unclear at this time whether or not his Riddler will return for Reeves’ “The Batman Part II.” The film is already set for release on Oct. 3, 2025 from Warner Bros.
