At this point it’s probably a good idea to take any news regarding the DCEU with a grain of salt, but grab a double handful when it comes to The Batman. Matt Reeves has revealed absolutely nothing of his movie, and we don’t even know if Ben Affleck’s role as the Caped Crusader is secured. Variety’s Justin Kroll urges caution with his latest rumor that Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin could be the movie’s villain, or he may turn up in Harley Quinn spinoff Birds of Prey.
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
Penguin has been prominent of late thanks to Robin Lord Taylor’s enthusiastic performance in Gotham where he is a central figure. But on the big screen we haven’t seen Penguin in a live-action film since 1992’s Batman Returns portrayed memorably by Danny DeVito. So the timing is right for Penguin to get his due, although to me it sounds like Reeves has done next to nothing with his script. You mean to tell me he still doesn’t know who his villain is after all this time? If Penguin instead shows up in Birds of Prey, it’ll be up to director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson to figure out what to do with the infamous Bat-foe. There have been really silly versions of Penguin and some in which he’s very cruel and deadly, so it really could go anywhere.
There was a time last year when Josh Gad was lobbying hard to play Penguin and reportedly even met with DC brass about it. He’d be perfect for it, and something tells me if he still wants the role it will be his.