The Batman will see the Caped Crusader face off against a sizeable rogues gallery of villains, including Riddler, Carmine Falcone and Catwoman. But perhaps the most famous name to join this disreputable list is Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot – AKA Penguin. The Gentleman of Crime will be making his first appearance in a Batman movie since 1992’s Batman Returns. No official images of Farrell’s take on the character have been released yet, so for now, it’s up to the artists of the web to give us a taste of what he could look like.
Speaking of which, we’ve now got Instagrammer Will Gray’s stab at capturing Farrell’s Cobblepot, which you can see down below. Personally, I really like the look Gray has gone for, as it’s much more threatening than Danny DeVito’s Burton-infused pale-face routine. If you’ll forgive the esoteric reference, he looks not unlike Peter Vaughan’s prison mob boss Grouty from the classic BBC comedy Porridge. That was always going to be a niche comparison to make.
Penguin has long been caricatured by different creative teams – Tim Burton I’ve already mentioned, but his portrayal in the Arkham video games left me cold, too. Fingers crossed The Batman director Matt Reeves takes a different approach. It’ll also see a new interpretation of the Riddler, who’ll be played by Paul Dano. That character poses a similar challenge. That being, how to ground him in something closer to Christopher Nolan’s superhero realism as opposed to Tim Burton’s romanticism. I’ve got a suspicion Reeves will aim somewhere down the middle.
How would you feel about this Penguin look in The Batman, though? Leave us a comment with your own thoughts below. We’ll find out more about what they go for as we get closer to its 2021 release date.