Margot Robbie Says The Penguin Was BIRDS OF PREY's Original Villain (And Reveals Why He Was Replaced)

The Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie reveals that The Penguin was supposed to be Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'s villain, and explains why Black Mask replaced him.

News

By JoshWilding - Aug 22, 2025 11:08 AM EST

Filed Under: Birds of Prey

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) opened in February 2020. While it underperformed from the start, COVID-19 meant we never got to see what the Suicide Squad spin-off was truly capable of at the box office.

The movie received positive reviews (it's "Certified Fresh" at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes), and pitted Harley Quinn against an extremely sinister villain in Ewan McGregor's Black Mask. However, it turns out that she was originally going to face Ozwald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly about their new film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell admitted that they hadn't previously discussed their respective DC roles. It was then that Robbie confirmed that The Penguin was removed from the movie's script due to Matt Reeves' plans for him in 2022's The Batman.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Robbie: "Did we ever talk about Harley and the Penguin?"

Farrell: "I don't believe so. I don't think it came up once. No, we never mentioned, never spoke about it at all."

Robbie: "We've done so much talking, and I don't think we've ever [discussed that]. That's so weird. The first draft that Christina [Hodson] wrote of Birds of Prey, the villain was the Penguin. And then [director/writer] Matt Reeves said, 'Don't use the Penguin. I'm going to use him in my thing.' And so we swapped it to Black Mask [played by Ewan McGregor]." [Birds of Prey's The Penguin was] amazing."

Looking back at Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey—the new title it was given after a so-so opening weekend—it's easy to see how The Penguin and his Iceberg Lounge once factored into the movie.

While DC Studios has since launched, we can't help but wonder whether The Batman Part II and The Brave and the Bold will run into similar issues, especially if there are plans for them to use the same villains.

Hush is currently expected to take centre stage in Reeves' sequel, though we've also heard that Robin could make his Batverse debut. If so, what does that mean for Batman's planned DCU team-up with his son, Damian Wayne? That remains to be seen.

Asked if Robbie could reprise her role as Harley Quinn in the DCU, Gunn recently said, "That will be revealed down the line." He added, "I definitely am always looking for a place to put [Idris Elba's] Bloodsport and figuring that out. So we'll see what happens."

The Batman Part II is set to be released in theaters on October 1, 2027.

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28 Comments

bobevanz - 8/22/2025, 11:20 AM

Black Mask died so Penguin could soar. The egg sandwich was the best part of this movie

TheLobster - 8/22/2025, 11:24 AM

@bobevanz - that and The Huntress.

MisterBones - 8/22/2025, 11:36 AM

@bobevanz - lmao the egg sandwich scene really is the best thing

lazlodaytona - 8/22/2025, 12:53 PM

@bobevanz - I loved the film. probably more than I should, but I did

tmp3 - 8/22/2025, 11:28 AM

Ewan was fun as Black Mask, but if the BoP take on Penguin was a similarly bitchy/vein/broad campy villain then I’m really happy Reeves won out. Doesn’t hold a candle to what Matt/LeFranc/Colin did with the character, and Farrell deserves every award going his way for his incredible performance as Oz. Feels character defining in the same way that Ledger was to Joker, and easily one of the greatest CB villain performances of all time. That show was just a great character study throughout, and almost feels like a minor miracle that they pulled it off the way that they did

tmp3 - 8/22/2025, 11:32 AM

Honestly feel like if Penguin was in BoP it would have cemented him as a lower-tier Batman villain, whereas Reeves/Farrell solidified him as a top 3 Batman villain of all time in just two goes

Slotherin - 8/22/2025, 11:40 AM

@tmp3 - definitely a respectable take on the character. Not sure if I'd agree as a top 3 but it was one which elevated the character for me and really impressed for sure.

MuadDib - 8/22/2025, 11:29 AM

What a trash movie that was, it was just another nail in the coffin of what was once the DCEU.

Should she still play Harley? Idk, idc, Harley really shouldn’t be a main character either way, she’s Jokers side chick. Keep it that way and focus on the main villains who need the screen time to really establish themselves.

Slotherin - 8/22/2025, 11:37 AM

@MuadDib - Harley's grown so much from Joker though, a move even supported by her creators and one embraced in a large enough portion from her fanbase that to say she should always be with Joker is like saying Grayson should never be Nightwing. It's a cemented and embraced aspect of their character arcs.

epc1122 - 8/22/2025, 11:40 AM

@MuadDib - she hasn’t been portrayed as jokers sidekick for a long time. Just like dick Grayson is no longer Robin. I personally like when characters don’t stay stagnant and evolve as characters.

lazlodaytona - 8/22/2025, 12:54 PM

@MuadDib - yeah, but Harley Halloween costumes sell well to teenage girls

epc1122 - 8/22/2025, 11:29 AM

I actually think penguin would have been more fitting in birds of prey. Also not a fan of black mask dying.

Slotherin - 8/22/2025, 11:39 AM

@epc1122 - fine with him dying though wish he got to be more like Black Mask first, if not leave him scarred and scary for the future for sure had they ever invested in one.
I agree Penguin fits a theme better.

epc1122 - 8/22/2025, 11:51 AM

@Slotherin - I don’t think black mask should be a one and done villain. Oh, sorry about repeating what you wrote about dick Grayson. I was probably in the middle of writing when you had already posted yours or just didn’t see it. But I do agree with you. I like seeing progression in characters whether good or bad. I think it was interesting in Star Wars started when episode 4 and we see Vader as this bad guy and then we go back to see how he became evil. On the flip side, i think it would have also been interesting to see how the story progresses from a more linear story.

MisterBones - 8/22/2025, 11:35 AM

“And then [director/writer] Matt Reeves said, 'Don't use the Penguin. I'm going to use him in my thing.“

tmp3 - 8/22/2025, 11:42 AM

Between Burgess Meredith, DeVito and Farrell, I love that we have three completely distinct but still memorable takes on Oswald that are all uniquely memorable in their own way. Especially fascinated by the Freudian tragedy at the heart of Farrel’s take (Oedipus does mean swollen foot after all…), and how that take blends things from the mafia genre, Greek tragedies and a comic book universe that almost feels like Dick Tracy but taken seriously. DeVito was just a nasty, animalistic pervert freak who you couldn’t take your eyes off of, and Meredith felt like the silver age comics take leapt off the page.

Meanwhile poor Mr. Freeze only has Ahnold

MisterBones - 8/22/2025, 12:01 PM

@tmp3 - Robin Lord Taylor's take is underrated. Gotham was mostly a ham-fisted mess but it did do some things well. Penguin is just the most consistently well written character in the show, and Taylor did phenomenal work. Gotham for all its major flaws, did understand the intrinsic nature of Penguin as a concept. They showed the constant degrading treatment that feeds his growing ambition. As we see his character develop, we understood the reasoning behind his burgeoning Machiavellian nature. We also saw the the depths of his feeling for his mother and the lengths he was prepared to go to in her name.

They did all this while leaning into the more comic booky elements of his character too.

lazlodaytona - 8/22/2025, 12:56 PM

@tmp3 - Freeze got some love in GOTHAM. it sucked, but.....

lazlodaytona - 8/22/2025, 12:59 PM

@MisterBones - I'm there with you. Gotham was a mess but they frickin knew how to cast the epic catalogue of Bat's rogues.
Taylor was incredible and I'm SO glad they were able to bring Pee-Wee in the reprise the role of Oz's dad.

Oh, and Victor Zasz (Metamorpho in Superman) was SPOT.ON! freaking good and freaking hilarious.

SuperCat - 8/22/2025, 11:44 AM

TheVisionary25 - 8/22/2025, 11:46 AM

Hmmm , I could see that being the case since the DCEU’s Black Mask owned a nightclub which could have easily been the Iceberg Lounge when The Penguin was meant to be the main villain..

Having said that , I think it worked out for the best since we got Colin Farrell as The Penguin in both The Batman & his own series which I liked alot and BOP got Ewan McGregor’s Roman Sionis who was the best part of that film imo (even though I didn’t really care for the movie itself overall).

Super12 - 8/22/2025, 12:05 PM

I want to see the Black Mask from Arkham Origins on the big screen. THAT was the right take on the villain. Also Arkham's Penguin go the look and accent right. And Deathstroke was perfect. And the Riddler. And Ra's. And Joker. Ok can we just make an Arkham Universe movie series already?

slickrickdesigns - 8/22/2025, 12:15 PM

What a mess of a film…. Robbie was great as Quinn but the Birds of Prey part was a full on little girls made for tv action film. Batgirl really couldn’t be that bad if they released this debacle.

theFUZZ008 - 8/22/2025, 12:15 PM

"Looking back at Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey—the new title it was given after a so-so opening weekend—it's easy to see how The Penguin and his Iceberg Lounge once factored into the movie"

Josh writes this in an article the DAY AFTER he published an article with the claim, "Excluding 2020, a pandemic year without a single superhero movie in theaters..."

ModHaterSLADE - 8/22/2025, 12:24 PM

Black Mask was a good villain, shame the movie was still a mess.

lazlodaytona - 8/22/2025, 1:00 PM

@ModHaterSLADE - I thought he was written well and was terrifyingly unhinged.

MotherGooseUPus - 8/22/2025, 12:43 PM

to this day, the WORST CBM i've ever seen

lazlodaytona - 8/22/2025, 1:13 PM

@MotherGooseUPus -

Jonah Hex wants to talk to you.
and STEEL
and Batman and Robin
and JOKER 2
and one of the four Fantastic Fours
and Spiderman 3/Amazing Spiderman 2
and Batman v Superman
and The Spirit
and The Phantom
and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
and Van Helsing
and Kick Ass 2
and Thor Love & Thunder
and HULK
and Supergirl
and Superman IV
and Jostice League
and The Green Hornet
and Super pets
and The Marvels
and Morbius
and a whole lot more that is a whole lot worse than Birds of Prey

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Margot Robbie Says The Penguin Was BIRDS OF PREY's Original Villain (And Reveals Why He Was Replaced)

The Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie reveals that The Penguin was supposed to be Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'s villain, and explains why Black Mask replaced him.

BIRDS OF PREY (2002) Star Dina Meyer Shares Throwback Photo From Her Short Stint As Batgirl

THE RUNNING MAN Star Glen Powell Teases Epic Practical Action Scenes; New Magazine Covers And Stills Revealed

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.