When The Batman was still shooting, Colin Farrell was seemingly spotted on the movie's set looking very much like the "Emperor Penguin" character from the comic books. We'd later learn that was a case of mistaken identity, with the Irish actor instead donning prosthetics and a fat suit to portray a (mostly) accurate version of Oswald Cobblepot in Matt Reeves' "Year Two" story.
We say "mostly" because there are some key elements from the source material missing, but this is a Penguin at a relatively early stage in his career as one of Gotham City's greatest crooks.
This was emphasised by Farrell during an interview with Empire (via CBR). "There's no top hat [in The Batman]," he confirmed. "There is one scene where I have an umbrella in my hand, but it doesn't have a trigger on the handle. He does have a limping gait, so there is somewhat of a waddle."
"Oz is not yet fully inhabiting the mythology of the Penguin and doesn't take too kindly to the monicker," Farrell adds, teasing the transformation this character will go through. Previously, he's said that the villain is "only in [The Batman] for five or six scenes," but we do know a HBO Max series is in the works that could explore how he goes from Oz to The Penguin (which sounds a lot like Gotham).
Following the villain's journey in this corner of the DC Multiverse has potential, and we're fully expecting Oz to be a big part of whatever Reeves has planned for this new trilogy of movies. We'll see if that ultimately involves taking centre stage as a lead bad guy similar to Danny DeVito in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, but there are plenty of other rogues the director could choose to focus on.
The Batman is set to be released in theaters on March 4.
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