Catwoman's relationship with Bruce Wayne in The Batman may factor into the Riddler's fight against Gotham's corruption. The second trailer for Matt Reeves' The Batman provided a longer look at the characters that will appear alongside Robert Pattinson's unique iteration of the Dark Knight. It also confirmed that this will be the grittiest and most brutal version of Gotham so far. Batman seems to be more ruthless than ever and the Riddler is a far cry from Jim Carrey's portrayal from Batman Forever, although Catwoman appears to retain the same detached personality that allows her to blur the line between crime and vigilantism. Given the context of what has been shown thus far about the Riddler's motivation, Catwoman may well end up being an even more integral character than had previously been considered.
Like many other members of Batman's extensive gallery of villains in most comic books, shows, video games, and movies, the Riddler is often depicted as an unstable criminal who becomes obsessed with Batman. The Riddler uses clues, puzzles, riddles, and all kinds of mind games to test Batman's detective skills rather than to fix Gotham or deliver a revolutionary message. That is bound to change, however, as Paul Dano's Riddler seems to focus all his efforts on hunting down corrupt individuals and institutions.
The Riddler's righteous mission poses the question of how he crosses paths with Batman. A more conventional version of the Dark Knight would immediately try to stop the Riddler as soon as the villain starts harming innocent people for the sake of his mind games, prompting a clear battle between good and evil. But considering how excessively violent Robert Pattinson is, it's clear that this version of the Dark Knight has a chip on his shoulder. He doesn't just neutralize his opponents — Pattinson's Batman uses fear and extreme violence to perpetuate Batman's terrifying presence over Gotham, prioritizing vengeance over justice. So, the conflict between Batman and the Riddler could come from the fact that the Riddler knows that Batman, who goes out of his way to remain Gotham's judge, jury, and executioner, has a close relationship with Catwoman, a talented criminal.
Details on how the characters in The Batman meet each other and interact are still unknown, but it's possible that the Riddler finds it hypocritical that Batman picks and chooses which criminals he chases down and which he starts a romance with. Previous movies have featured Batman's complicated relationship with Catwoman, but they haven't explored this dynamic between Selina Kyle and the main antagonist. For instance, Batman Returns' Catwoman sides with both the Penguin and Batman, but her main motivation is to exact revenge on Max Shreck for attempting to kill her. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane only uses Catwoman as bait to trap Batman, but he forgets about her afterward, which ends up spelling his end when she returns to save Batman. In The Batman, both Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne could become some of the Riddler's biggest targets due to the role they play in Gotham's twisted sense of justice.
Future sequels have the opportunity to develop this conflict even further. If Catwoman, the Riddler, and the Penguin return, The Batman could become the first big-screen live-action Batman franchise to follow the same villains as they make or dissolve allegiances throughout multiple installments. If the Riddler targets Batman due to his hypocritical relationship with Catwoman, Batman could beat down the Riddler to submission in the first movie, only to see Catwoman turn into a full-blown villain and realize that Edward Nashton was right to some degree.
