Colin Farrel as The Peguin
Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

Well, this is different.  Colin Farrell has been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter to be in talks to join the cast of Matt Reeves‘ ‘The Batman’ as… well, they already have a Batman, even though Farrell would make a great Dark Knight.  So who is he playing?  It turns out he is negotiating to play The Penguin!

In most depictions, The Penguin (real name: Oswald Cobblepot) is overweight, but then again, on FOX’s ‘Gotham’, the rail-thin Robin Lord Taylor portrayed the mobster.  The waddling supervillain has also been played by Burgess Meredith on the 1060s ‘Batman’ series, and Danny DeVito in Tim Burton’s ‘Batman Returns’.  The Penguin is one of Batman’s most popular foes, so a version of this character has appeared in most adaptations.

 

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The character first appeared in 1941’s ‘Detective Comics’ #58.  The Penguin is known for basing his crimes around birds, ice, and umbrellas.  In fact, his umbrellas, armed with everything from hidden guns and blades, to smoke and gases, are his weapons of choice.

DC Comics

Farrell appeared in this year’s Disney film ‘Dumbo’, and has been seen as Graves in Warner Brothers’ ‘Fantastic Beasts’ movies and on the series ‘True Detective’.  Among his other credits include ‘Widows’, ‘Legend of Cambria’, ‘The Lobster’, ‘Saving Mr. Banks’, ‘Total Recall’, ‘Fright Night’, ‘Alexander’, and more.

Reportedly, Warner Brothers offered the role of The Penguin to Jonah Hill, but the actor wanted a juicier role– that of The Riddler, who is said to be the main villain of ‘The Batman’.  Ultimately, the two parties failed to come together.  There was also a rumor that WB was considering Hill’s frequent collaborator Seth Rogan for the part.

 

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Should things work out, Farrell will join Robert Pattinson as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as The Riddler/Edward Nashton, and Jeffery Wright as Commissioner James Gordon.  The news of Farrell’s conversations arrives hot on the heels of the news that Andy Serkis is negotiating to portray Batman’s butler Alfred Pennyworth.

‘The Batman’ is expected to arrive in theaters on June 25, 2021.

What do you think of this cast so far?