A behind-the-scenes video from director Matt Reeves' DC film The Batman highlights actor Colin Farrell's impressive transformation into the notorious crime lord Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin.
Posted as a YouTube Shorts video by IGN, the clip sees Farrell sitting in a makeup chair, where he apparently spent approximately four hours getting his prosthetics applied, resulting in the actor being almost unrecognizable. "It was one of the most exciting, jubilant, celebratory experiences I've had in making pictures in 20 years," Farrell says in the video.
In The Batman, Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot serves as a secondary antagonist, with the main villain of the piece being none other than Edward Nashton/the Riddler (Paul Dano). Farrell is the fourth actor to portray the Penguin in live-action, following Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito and Robin Lord Taylor. Alongside DeVito, he is also one of two actors to play the character on the big screen. Farrell is certainly no stranger to playing comic book villains, having previously starred as Bullseye in the 2003 Marvel film Daredevil.
Following his turn in The Batman, Farrell is set to reprise his role as Oswald Cobblepot in an HBO Max spinoff series set in the film's universe, tentatively titled The Penguin. The project was first reported to be in the works back in September 2021, and was officially ordered to series this past March, shortly after The Batman debuted in theaters. Lauren LeFranc (Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) serves as showrunner on the series, with the aforementioned Reeves attached to produce alongside Dylan Clark.
"We're doing [a spinoff series] with Colin, seeing Oz rise to power, almost like a Scarface story," Clark told SFX Magazine back in February. "It's exciting to do something like that just as a standalone, but it speaks to the character and our movie, so that you'll go back to the movie [and say], 'Oh, I see that backstory there, that line refers to this.'"
In the meantime, Warner Bros. Pictures has officially green-lit a theatrical sequel to The Batman, which will see Robert Pattinson reprise his role as main protagonist Bruce Wayne/Batman. Reeves, who directed and co-wrote the first film, returns to pen the script for the sequel.
The Batman is streaming on HBO Max.
Source: YouTube