Colin Farrell has talked briefly about his role as the Penguin in The Batman 2, which he has described as “deeper” and “scarier” than the first.
In a discussion at the Zurich Film Festival, attended by The Hollywood Reporter, Farrell confirmed he will return as the Penguin for Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2, although he has an even smaller role this time around.
Farrell caught the eye as the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman, which starred Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader. While Farrell only had a handful of scenes, many of them were memorable, such as the film’s much-loved car chase.
He went on to reprise the role for hit HBO show The Penguin, and will now play the Penguin again in The Batman 2, due out October 1, 2027. Farrell kept his cards close to his chest, as you’d expect, but did say the sequel was “deeper” and “scarier,” with bigger stakes.
“I’ve got an even smaller role in this one. But I’m OK with that,” he said. “I’ve read the script, from start to finish, and I can’t say much about it. But it’s deeper, scarier, the stakes are bigger. I’m really excited to see it.”
The Penguin isn’t the main villain in The Batman 2, but director Matt Reeves’ has teased who is, saying “it's never really been done in a movie before.”
In an interview with Josh Horowitz, Reeves explained his thinking on the new villain, saying: “I had a lot of ideas, and then Mattson Tomlin, who's my writing partner, we began the process of this by doing another deep dive into the comics, exploring the ideas that I had had."
He continued: “He gave me some ideas that he had had. And we sat together and we watched a lot of movies, honestly, and not all movies that are from the realm of Gotham, just to explore where this story… because I knew that the way the movie ended it was leaving us on the precipice, and also the way events sort of happen within the show [The Penguin], that there is an exploration to be had. And one of the explorations for me was to do something that pushes even further into the character of Bruce Wayne, because the first story is so much about the Batman.
“Let’s say we get to make 3 — I have no idea — but if we get to make 3, I always wanted the movies to be focused on his character. Once you get past the origin tale, which we didn't quite do but we did something that referred to his origins, then you start telling the rogues' gallery story and that character's arc. And I never wanted to lose Rob at the center of these stories. And so that is really what we set our aim on.
“And so picking the right villain that digs into what that does, that goes into his past and his life, that was what drove that discussion. I won't tell you where we ended up, but we're super excited about it. And I will say it's never really been done in a movie before. So we're excited.”
Reeves also spoke about where The Penguin stands in terms of Season 2. “We’re in discussions. [Showrunner] Lauren [Lefranc] is thinking hard and we’re talking, so we’ll see,” he told Variety. “We love the show, and we think our cast is so incredible. The work that Lauren and the writers did was incredible. Our passion was in it, but never in our wildest dreams could we imagine it would have been received in the way that it was.”
The Batman 2 starts filming early next year, and is set to launch five-and-a-half years after The Batman.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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