Will The Penguin be a major player in Gotham’s future? Colin Farrell confirms that he’s set to return as Oz Cobb in The Batman Part II.
With The Penguin finally coming to an end, fans of Colin Farrell’s take on Gotham’s most dignified criminal have been itching to know how the series will play into the upcoming sequel of The Batman. While details about the project remain sparse, it has been confirmed that Oz Cobb will return in the follow-up, as well as the final film in the planned trilogy by Matt Reeves.
“I signed up for three Batman films, but I didn’t know if I’d be in the second film,” Farrell explained in a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter. “Matt Reeves is a brilliant writer and an extraordinary filmmaker, and what I’m most excited-slash-nervous about in the second film is not what Oz does — or what predicaments he finds himself in, or what moments of success he gets to experience — but what his voice is. How is his personality?”
“It was forming and changing in the limited series, and, by the end of the eight episodes, it’s concretized into something else. There is a degree of almost delusion psychopathy present in the last scene.”
It’s hard to imagine a version of The Batman Part II where Colin Farrell doesn’t appear as The Penguin. Luckily, it seems Matt Reeves has plans for Oz Cobb, not just in the sequel, but for the entire trilogy that he has dubbed the “Batman Epic Crime Saga”. Of course, comic book movie fans know that sometimes older mainstays are reduced to cameos in subsequent films, leaving many to wonder just how large of a role Farrell will play in the project.
The Penguin’s Role In The Batman Part II
There’s been a lot of speculation about the plot of The Batman Part II. Some believe the sequel could be an original story focusing on the Golden Age version of Clayface. Others believe Matt Reeves may be loosely adapting The Long Halloween. Both of these are stories that might leave little room for Colin Farrell to appear as The Penguin. However, at least in the next movie, it seems Oz Cobb has a relatively beefy role.
So how is that taken up in the second film?” Farrell rhetorically asked. “I was told I have five or six scenes. I don’t have any hopes or any expectations. I’m really an open book, and that’s the way I get excited by shit or not. I think sometimes actors, if they have a career that has a certain length of time, they sometimes get to make too many decisions. Which isn’t to say I won’t push back or argue or fight in Oz’s corner — I do believe I know him better than anyone now.”
While every movie has a different amount of scenes, five or six probably puts Oz Cobb in around an eighth of The Batman Part II. This certainly isn’t bad for a sequel, especially given Colin Farrell was only the secondary antagonist for the first film. Though given how successful The Penguin has been, it wouldn’t be a shock if that scene count gets bumped up before the final release.
The Penguin is now streaming on HBO. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and make sure to stay tuned to our YouTube channel for more content.
