Colin Farrell's the Penguin in THE BATMAN Was Inspired by Fredo From THE GODFATHER
The Batman director Matt Reeves has shared some more information on the inspiration behind the film, specifically the inspiration behind this latest version of The Penguin, who is played by Colin Farrell. In an upcoming issue of Empire Magazine, Reeves explains that The Penguin was inspired by the character Fredo in The Godfather.
Reeves previously shared that Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne was inspired by Kurt Cobain and Paul Dano’s The Riddler was inspired by the Zodiac Killer. When talking about The Penguin, the filmmaker shared:
"There's a touch of John Cazale as Fredo in The Godfather. He's a mid-level mobster guy and he's got a bit of showmanship to him, but you can see that he wants more and that he's been underestimated. He's ready to make his move."
It was also mentioned that The Penguin was also inspired by Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday and Tony Soprano from The Sopranos. Ferrell went on to share his thoughts on the character and the connection to Fredo saying,
"[Matt Reeves] mentioned Fredo to me, because Fredo's crippled by the insignificance that he lives within, in a family that is full of very strong, very bright, very capable, very violent men. Which is why he commits the act of betrayal that he does, because he's weak, he's kind of broken, and he's in pain. There is a kind of fracture at the core of Oz, which fuels his desire and his ambition to rise within this criminal cabal. Where that rise goes ... I would love to get to explore that in the second film, if that was ever to happen."
As you know, The Batman won’t be the only time we see this version of The Penguin. There’s a spinoff series in development for HBO Max that will focus on the rise of the character in Gotham City, and Collin Ferrell is going to reprise his role.
The series is described as a “Scarface-like” series about the rise of the Penguin character. The Penguin, otherwise known as Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, “is a dapper mob boss and one of Batman’s primary villains.”
I like what they are doing with this character. We’ve seen very little of him in the trailers, but it’ll be interesting to see how his story arc plays out.
The Batman hits theaters on March 4th, 2022.
Via: /Film