A few months ago, there were rumours circling the internet that Jonah Hill (Wolf of Wall Street, 21 Jump Street) was in talks to play Penguin in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Later, it was reported that Hill was actually in the midst of negotiations to play The Riddler. Since then though, Hill has left the project, possibly because Warner Bros failed to meet his salary demands.
Anyway, now it looks like we’ve got a new star lined up to play the iconic Batman villain, Oswald Cobblepot AKA Penguin. Collider reports that Colin Farrell is currently in negotiations with the studio to play The Penguin in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson.
Colin Farrell is a highly charismatic performer known for his Golden Globe-nominated role in The Lobster as well as his Golden Globe-winning role in In Bruges. And let’s not forget his fantastic work as part of a huge ensemble in James Mangold’s Seven Psychopaths. Farrell is also no newbie when it comes to comic book villains, having played Bullseye in 2003’s Daredevil, but I guess the less we say about that film the better.
On a separate note, The Wrap reports that Andy Serkis is currently in talks to play Alfred Pennyworth. Serkis and Matt Reeves previously worked together on Reeves’ brilliant Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War For the Planet of the Apes.
Bruce Wayne’s warm-hearted butler cum father figure is one of the most important characters in the Batman lore, serving as a consistent voice of reason in Bruce’s life. The decision to cast Andy Serkis in the role does feel a little odd, at least at first. After all, Serkis is known to play intense or badass characters, whether in motion capture (Gollum, Caesar) or not (Klaw in the MCU).
Having said that, Serkis did play Baloo in Mowgli, so that kinda throws my initial thought out the window already. Besides, Alfred Pennyworth is known to be a complete badass during his younger days, even serving in the military at one point in his life.
If the two deals go through, Colin Farrell and Andy Serkis will join an already stacked cast of characters such as Robert Pattinson [Bruce Wayne/Batman], Paul Dano [Edward Nygma/Riddler], Zoe Kravitz [Selina Kyle/Catwoman] and Jeffrey Wright [Commisioner Gordon].
Matt Reeves’ The Batman will begin filming this November/December and is set for a summer 2021 release.
