Paul Dano, who played the Riddler in The Batman, revealed to GQ that the level of security around the film’s script was unprecedented.

“I never received that many texts, phone calls, emails,” Dano said. “Don’t lose this. Put it in your special binder,” he was reportedly told by the production team. “This was the first time I had a binder with a locking code on it. Then they added a tracking device.” he said.

Matt Reeves’ The Batman starred Dano alongside Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravtiz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Andy Serkis and Barry Keoghan. A sequel to the widely successful film was announced in late April, which is set to again be directed by Reeves and see Pattinson reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. Though nothing else has been announced, a number of actors from the first movie are set to reprise their roles. As per Rotten Tomatoes, it is unlikely that the film will be released anytime before 2024.

Despite this, The Batman’s success has secured multiple TV series spin offs set to be available on HBO Max. These include The Penguin, which is set to star Colin Farrell and centre around his character’s origins and his rise to the top of Gotham’s crime syndicate. Reeves is expected to be involved in this project as an executive producer. This series is set to start filming in early 2023. A second spin off show revolving around Arkham Asylum was also announced and is in early stages of development. Reeves has previously spoken about The Batman and claimed it was the beginning of a franchise. He spoke to Entertainment Weekly early in the year, prior to the announcement of the sequel and spin offs, and said “What I really wanted this movie to do was create a Batverse…The Bat world is so rich with character that as you’re starting to come to an end, you can already start thinking about the next thing. Because the idea, of course, is that Gotham’s story never ends.”

It is unknown whether Dano’s Riddler will return in the Batverse, but there is much to look forward to for followers of the franchise.