Hot on the heels of news that Jonah Hill has backed out of talks for The Penguin in The Batman, reports say that Seth Rogen almost got the role. It's been floating out there for awhile now that The Batman would likely include multiple villains, with the two most often mentioned being Penguin and The Riddler. To that end, Zoe Kravitz was recently cast as Catwoman, Batman's sometimes criminal nemesis and other times greatest love. The Caped Crusader is set to be played by former Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson.
Earlier tonight, it was reported that Jonah Hill had exited negotiations to play either The Penguin or The Riddler, seemingly due to a disagreement on his salary. With Hill out of the running, additional information has been released regarding another possible comedic actor Warner Bros. considered to play the umbrella-wielding Oswald Cobblepott. Apparently, Pineapple Express star Seth Rogen was briefly in the running for the part.
The news that Rogen almost landed The Penguin role in The Batman comes courtesy of Deadline. Their report revealed that those behind The Batman expressed interest in Rogen playing Penguin, although claims that no offers were made and no formal talks occurred. However, a tweet from THR's Borys Kit adds some more information to the story, saying that early talks did take place, and also that those talks only began once Warner Bros. had decided on offering Hill The Riddler role.
Hill would've already been a pretty interesting choice for Penguin in The Batman, but Rogen would perhaps be even more so. Unlike Hill, Rogen really hasn't spread his wings much in dramatic acting, and is also kind of hard to imagine as a ruthless crime boss. That said, the same could've been said of Danny DeVito when he was cast in Batman Returns, and quite a few fans loved his portrayal. Like Pattinson, perhaps Rogen would've surprised detractors of his casting.
It's unlikely Rogen will sweat losing out on The Batman for long though, as he's seemingly never at a loss for work, and when he's not onscreen, he's often producing or writing as well. Rogen of course voiced Pumbaa in this summer's Lion King remake, and recently starred alongside Charlize Theron in Long Shot. Rogen also produced the recently wrapped up Preacher series for AMC, and does the same for The Boys on Amazon Prime, as well as Black Monday on Showtime. With both Rogen and Hill out of the mix though, The Batman still needs to cast some villains for The Dark Knight to fight.
