Rumor Suggests The Penguin May Be THE BATMAN’s Main Villain
According to Variety's Justin Kroll (who, it's worth noting, tends to have reliable intel on matters such as these), Warner Bros. is particularly keen to get The Penguin into the DCU, and he may end up playing the main villain in Matt Reeves' forthcoming The Batman.
And, hey, if he doesn't? Maybe they'll just put him in 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
On the one hand, making The Penguin the heavy in Reeves' Batman movie would eliminate any chance - however remote - of Jared Leto's Joker being the main villain, and that's something to be thankful for. On the other hand, the idea that The Penguin could simply be shuffled from one movie to the next depending on Matt Reeves' interest levels sounds like a questionable way to plot one's ongoing superhero slate. That wouldn't be terribly surprising, of course, but still.
Anyway, let's agree - just for the purposes of this post - to take the above at face value: we really dig the idea of a Batman movie featuring The Penguin! He's not been seen in a live-action Bat-film in over two-and-a-half decades (some of us were reaaaally hoping he'd appear in one of the Nolan joints, but no dice), and we'd love to see him tangling with the Dark Knight again onscreen...especially with Reeves at the helm. That combination could have the makings for a relatively grounded crime epic, and that's a Batman flavor we definitely enjoy.
Remind me never to use the phrase "Batman flavor" ever again, and stay tuned for more on The Batman and Birds of Prey as further updates become available. In the meantime: what would you think about a Bats vs. Penguin movie? Feeling it as much as we are, or not so much? Sound off below.
