Can you believe the last live-action cinematic portrayal of the Penguin was Danny DeVito in 1992’s Batman Returns? Considering the amount of Batman movies released in that time, that’s surprising, but the good news is Oswald Cobblepot will finally return to the big screen very soon in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. It hasn’t been officially confirmed as yet, but it’s looking like Colin Farrell will play the iconic villain opposite Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in the movie.
But what does DeVito think about his successor in the role? Well, funnily enough, the two are actually great pals and the DC veteran couldn’t be more pleased with the Irish actor’s appointment. While speaking to ScreenRant, DeVito praised his Dumbo co-star and said he expects him to do a “great job” with the part.
“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.”
Penguin isn’t the only character from Batman Returns that’s due to appear in The Batman. Catwoman will also play a key role in proceedings, with Zoe Kravitz cast as the anti-heroine who was previously played by Michelle Pfieffer (and Anne Hathaway in between). In fact, there’s an unexpected Returns flavor to the whole project, really. Although, we’d imagine Farrell’s Cobblepot will be a lot more grounded than DeVito’s. Don’t expect him to travel around in a giant duck.
Pattinson, Kravitz and Farrell will be joined by more A-listers portraying other fan favorite characters from the Bat-mythos, too. Jeffrey Wright is Jim Gordon, Paul Dano is the Riddler and Andy Serkis is expected to take on the role of Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s faithful butler. Expect more casting announcements before filming begins in early 2020 as well, ahead of The Batman‘s theatrical release in June 2021.
