Colin Farrell might be playing Oswald Cobblepot in Matt Reeves' upcoming superhero movieThe Batman, and a Penguin from the past is giving Farrell his blessing. Back in 1992, Danny DeVito played the iconic Batman villain in the Tim Burton movieBatman Returns, and now he’s ready to pass on the umbrella to Penguin’s next big screen iteration. When asked about Farrell’s reported casting inThe Batman, DeVito gave the proverbial thumbs up by saying this:
“Colin’s a great actor… He’s a good friend of mine. I’ve known him for many years and I think he’s going to do a great job as the Penguin. It’s going to be really interesting to see his take on it.”
Earlier this month, it was reportedColin Farrell was in talks to play Penguin in The Batman, but his casting has yet to be officially confirmed. If cast, Farrell will be facing the challenge of providing a new take on the classic character that’s already been portrayed so well by a handful of other actors. BeforeDanny DeVito played the supervillainon the big screen, Penguin was famously portrayed by Burgess Meredith in the classicBatmanTV series with Adam West. More recently, a younger version of the character was played by Robin Lord Taylor on the prequel seriesGotham, and his performance was one of the brightest spots of the show.
Meanwhile, several other actors have been officially confirmed for the cast ofThe Batman. Of course, most of us know Robert Pattinson fromThe Lighthouseis on board to star as Bruce Wayne, andLord of the Ringsstar Andy Serkis has also been cast as his butler Alfred Pennyworth. For the villains, Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) will play The Riddler while Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) will be playing Catwoman. Emmy-winningWestworldstar Jeffrey Wright has also been cast as the new Commissioner James Gordon, and newcomer Jayme Lawson has been cast in a mystery role.
Colin Farrell’s possible Batman castinghas drawn some varied opinions from DC fans, similar to virtually every other casting choice inBatmanmovie history had when they were first announced. Physically, Farrell does not look like your average depiction of the Oswald Cobblepot character, but as we’ve seen onGotham, putting a new spin on Penguin can sometimes bring great results.True Detectivefans have also been particularly supportive of the idea of Farrell as Penguin, pointing to his acclaimed performance on the hit HBO series as proof he’ll do a fantastic job in the role.
The Batmanis set to premiere in theaters on July 24, 2025. Production will reportedly begin in early 2020, so more casting updates should be coming in the near future. According to a rumored plot leak, the movie will be including many different supervillains fromBatman’s Rogues Gallery, so there’s no telling who else we might see beyond Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman. The news of DeVito speaking on Farrell’s potential casting inThe Batmanwas first reported byScreen Rant.
