Matt Reeves wants The Penguin as his villain for The Batman
Beaked-nosed Gotham City mobster The Penguin could be Batman’s next adversary, according to reports.
Director Matt Reeves – of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes fame – is working on The Batman, the next chapter in the franchise, for Warner Bros.
Variety’s Justin Kroll grabbed the scoop, tweeting that Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, to give him his full name, is in Reeves’ sights.
Take this with a grain of salt as things are constantly changing in the DCEU but I'm hearing the Penguin is possibly the choice to play the main villain in THE BATMAN. Sources add even if Reeves decide to go another route the studio could then make him the main villain in BOP
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 30, 2018
The ‘BOP’ mentioned is the planned Birds of Prey movie, which will be the new vehicle for Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn character, leading a ‘girl gang’ of female characters from the DC universe.
That movie will likely start production once Robbie is done with Quentin Tarantino’s next movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, in which she’ll play Sharon Tate.
He adds:
Reeves is still working on the script, so that could always change but of the multiple BIRDS OF PREY scripts submitted, one does have the Penguin as the main heavy. Either way, it seems WB wants this character cast in the universe sooner rather then later.
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 30, 2018
The Penguin was famously played by actor Burgess Meredith in the 60s TV show of Batman, while Danny DeVito took up the mantle for Tim Burton’s Batman Returns.
He was most recently played as a young, up-and-coming gangster in the TV show Gotham, by Robin Lord Taylor.
Of course, while who will be the main villain is a key issue to this stage of the development of the movie, who will play Batman is still to be resolved.
It’s unlikely to be Ben Affleck, the current Bruce Wayne, in Reeves’ iteration.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix have both been linked to the role, but have both denied their involvement.
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