Matt Reeves Confirms Colin Farrell's Role as Penguin in 'The Batman'

Way back in May, The Batman director Matt Reeves found his Bruce Wayne in Robert Pattinson. Since then, fans have been clamoring to know who the young Caped Crusader would facing off with in the forthcoming film.

Now, it turns out that Reeves has officially found his Penguin. According to People, the 53-year-old filmmaker took to Twitter this week to post a GIF of Colin Farrell from the 2008 film In Bruges along with the caption, “Wait — is that you, #Oz,” referring the villain’s real name, Oswald Cobblepot. It had been reported earlier that Farrell would be taking on the role, but the director had stayed quiet until now.

Paul Dano as the Riddler will reportedly be joining Farrell on the dark side of the DC Universe. Fighting for the good guys will be Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon. Peter Sarsgaard also has a mystery role in the film, and Andy Serkis is rumored to play Batman’s faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

Farrell is a vastly different choice for the role than the character’s predecessor, Danny DeVito, who was the last actor to have played the Penguin on the big screen in Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns.

So far, Twitter has had mixed feelings about Reeves’ choice. While many agree that Farrell is a good actor, others think that he is simply too “pretty” to play the pudgy menace. One user posted, “A bold choice! For comparison only: Burgess Meredith, 5' 5/12" Danny DeVito, 4' 10" Colin Farrell, 5' 10".” Another posted, “That Penguin needs more beef patties.”

Will Farrell be too tall, dark, and handsome for the role of this villain? We will have to wait until The Batman is released on June 25, 2021 to find out.