Evidence Mounts That The Penguin Will Be The Main Villain In The Batman

Oswald Cobblepot is returning to the big screen – it’s really a question of when, rather than if.

Indeed, if industry tipster Umberto Gonzalez is to be believed, The Penguin has been earmarked for Matt Reeves’ standalone Batman movie, as the famous DC mobster is no longer set to appear during Birds of Prey.

Out of the two gestating DC projects, The Batman makes the most sense, as Cobblepot has a long and messy history with Bruce Wayne in DC Comics. But with close to 20 superhero movies currently simmering over at Warner Bros. and DC Films, it’s nigh on impossible to call the Penguin’s next big-screen appearance with absolute certainty.

Still, Gonzalez has been bang on point before, so this DC nugget will no doubt fuel speculation all across the four corners of the Internet – particularly now that San Diego Comic-Con is right around the corner.

DC NUGGET: The villain in BIRDS OF PREY was originally THE PENGUIN, but that is no longer the case. Gee, I wonder what other DC movie Oswald Cobblepot can be the bad guy in?

On the other side of the coin, we know Black Canary, Huntress, Cassandra Cain and Renee Montoya will form part of the ensemble cast for DC’s Birds of Prey, which is said to be coming together at a brisk clip.

The Batman, meanwhile, looks to be sending out the feelers for a production crew. Rumor has it that Matt Reeves wants to roll back the years for a Batman Begins-like origins tale – hence the chatter asserting that his long-gestating standalone pic takes place in the 1980s and includes narrative ties to the Joker movie. For the record, that’s Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips’ anti-hero pic, not to be confused with the planned solo film for Jared Leto’s own Crown Prince of Crime.

But without an official start date to call its own, the Bat-shaped rumor mill will only continue to operate at full tilt.