Colin Farrell discusses his portrayal as the iconic villain Penguin in Matt Reeves' upcoming The Batman film, saying that the studio wouldn't let him smoke. Farrell is the latest actor to take on the Gotham gangster role on the big screen since Danny DeVito's portrayal in The Batman Returns, where DeVito's version was seen as one of the best Batman villains on screen. Farell's Penguin caught a lot of attention during the promos, with the actor looking almost unrecognizable with the heavy prosthetics and make-up, which reportedly took four hours to apply. However, the Penguin will only be a minor supporting villain, with Paul Dano's Riddler set to take center stage as the film's main antagonist.
The Batman is inspired by the Year One comic storyline, which focuses more on Bruce Wayne's earlier years as the Caped Crusader. The film will see Wayne investigate Gotham's corruption and the murders among the city's elite. Reeves' reboot will see a darker and grittier version of Gotham, a completely different tone than the earlier Batman films like Batman Forever, the last time Riddler was seen on the big screen. Warner Bros. will release The Batman on March 4, and the film is already set to have the biggest Batman film opening yet.
On Jake's Takes' " The Batman cast interview" video, Farrell talks about his portrayal of the Penguin and how different it will be compared to DeVito's, as well as adding that the studio wouldn't even let his character smoke. When asked, "How much more Penguin does he have left to evolve into," Farrell responds by saying that studios are incredibly cautious about showing cigarettes on screen when it comes to superhero films. Farrell then talks about his character's position in the movie and why the Penguin won't be what fans expect.
“I fought valiantly for a cigar, I even said at one stage 'can I have it unlit' and they were like no. The Oz that we meet hasn’t embodied the energy of the Penguin that we recognise from the source comics and from previous films, so I’ll see if it goes again. I’d love to explore it because he’s not an underboss, he’s not a boss, he’s just a soldier of Falcone at this stage. But he has great ambition and dreams of doing big big things”.
John Turturro, who will play Carmine Falcone, adds that he would love to see Colin's Penguin discover the iconic cigarette holder. Farrell follows up by saying, "HBO will give me the green light for that one," talking about the Penguin's eventual spinoff series. It will be exciting to see a different version of the Penguin, one that the audience is not familiar with. The actor recently talked about how his version takes heavy inspiration from The Godfather films and John Cazale's Fredo Corleone, likening the Gotham gangster's dedication to proving himself to Falcone with the iconic second son of Vito Corleone.
Being one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, it is interesting to see how Farrell's portrayal will impact the film as a whole, with the actor revealing his short screen time of roughly nine minutes. The film will be the longest Batman film yet, running at least two hours. But with Warner Bros already confirming an HBO Max spinoff show, fans are excited to see how Farrell's Penguin can develop from Falcone's soldier to the infamous Gotham City mobster he is best known as.
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Source: Jake's Takes