The Batman's Colin Farrell Was Ready For A Penguin Series Once He Put The Makeup On

Colin Farrell's exceptional 2022 kicked off with a fantastic performance in Matt Reeves' "The Batman." Starring as Gotham's nefarious Penguin, Farrell effortlessly slipped into the makeup heavy role, proving to be a worthy foe for The Dark Knight. Though his role in the crime epic was brief, Farrell was praised for his role as the Penguin, with /Film playfully calling him "a tough-talkin' thug with dreams of running [Gotham]," a far cry from how Danny DeVito portrayed the fish-eating villain in the campy "Batman Returns."

While a sequel to "The Batman" is still in early development, Warner Bros. is doubling down on Reeves' moody vision for Gotham City. Development has started on a spinoff focusing on Gotham City's Police Department, though it remains to be seen when the series manifests. A series based on Arkham Asylum is also in the works, with "Christine" director Antonio Campos serving as showrunner. Perhaps the spinoff with the most momentum is a series based on the Penguin, which will see Farrell return as Oswald Copplebot. In a recent interview, the "After Yang" star revealed what exactly compelled him to return as the Gotham villain.

While speaking with Variety at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, Colin Farrell opened up about returning as the Penguin for the HBO Max series. Details on the upcoming spinoff are slim, though it has been revealed that the series will take place one week after the Robert Pattison-led film. With a director in Craig Zobel and costar in Cristin Milioti, the Farrell series is moving full steam-ahead, with the actor confirming to the outlet that cameras will begin to roll in February 2023.

The "Banshees of Inisherin" actor was asked if, while filming "The Batman," he knew that his character would receive his own show. "Not at all," Farrell replied, before discussing how he knew he wanted to explore the Gotham villain more because of the fantastic makeup work done by artists Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine. "... I just thought it was the tip of the iceberg, pardon the pun, that we were getting to do the six or seven scenes that we did in the film," Farrell said. "I was grateful for them, but I wanted more."

Looper praised "The Batman" for delivering an "unrecognizable" Farrell, a sentiment that was echoed by several other critics and DC fans. Farrell continued by saying that, from his end, the idea of a spinoff was to allow artist Mike Marino to continue his work. "Honest to god, any thought I had about an extended series was to do with Mike Marino's work. I just knew there was so much to do with it — age it up, age it down," Farrell said.

"The Batman" has been shortlisted as a nominee for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 2023 Academy Awards (via The Wrap).