Whenever any movie featuring the Caped Crusader enters production, it’s only natural that moviegoers ask which villain(s) will be featured, as he boasts what’s arguably the best rogues gallery in all of comics. As such, the same questions are circling the long-gestating picture currently referred to as The Batman.
Now, you’ll likely recall that Joe Manganiello had been cast as Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke back when Ben Affleck was still attached to direct, but all bets may be off if Matt Reeves sees fit to include someone else as the chief antagonist. As an avid reader of the comics, I think it makes more sense to have Slade working for someone else because, after all, he is a mercenary. The Penguin, in my view, could fill this role.
Funny enough, it looks like at least one of those villains may make the final cut – and it’s not the assassin wearing the two-toned mask. Rather, Variety’s Justin Kroll says that Oswald Cobblepot will be the one confounding the Dark Knight, posting the following on Twitter:
“Take this with a grain of salt as things are constantly changing in the DCEU but I’m hearing the Penguin is possibly the choice to play the main villain in THE BATMAN. Sources add even if Reeves decide to go another route the studio could then make him the main villain in BOP.”
Although we’ve seen Robin Lord Taylor brilliantly portray the Penguin on Fox’ Gotham TV series, the character has been absent from the silver screen since 1992’s Batman Returns. Thus, he’s long overdue for a comeback, whether it be in The Batman or in Birds of Prey, the latter of which was also mentioned in a followup Tweet:
“Reeves is still working on the script, so that could always change but of the multiple BIRDS OF PREY scripts submitted, one does have the Penguin as the main heavy. Either way, it seems WB wants this character cast in the universe sooner rather then later.”
Based on what we’ve been hearing, Birds of Prey is likely to start filming before The Batman, so we hope that Warner Bros. sorts out which villains they’re going to use and where before long. Either way, it appears Cobblepot has a bright future ahead.
