The Batman‘s lineup of heroes and allies is filling out. Just a few weeks after Zoe Kravitz landed the role of Catwoman and Paul Dano agreed to slip on Riddler’s tights, news comes that Matthew Reeves’ The Batman might enlist Colin Farrell and Andy Serkis to play The Penguin and Batman’s trusty butler, Alfred, respectively.
Neither deal has been finalized, according to The Wrap and Deadline, which broke the stories, although negotiations are believed to be in their final stages. If the deals pan out, Serkis and Farrell will join Twilight and The Lighthouse star Robert Pattinson, who’ll be appearing as the Caped Crusader himself in the film.
Previously, actor Jonah Hill was said to be in talks to play Penguin or Riddler, but those negotiations ultimately fell through. If Farrell takes over as Penguin, then Reeves is clearly taking the character in a very different direction than originally planned. Meanwhile, Serkis is mainly associated with Marvel projects: he recently appeared as a villain in Black Panther and will step behind the camera to direct Venom 2 for Sony, which is currently building out its own Spider-Man-focused cinematic universe.
As die-hard fans might remember, Farrell actually has a supervillain past, too. In 2003, Farrell played Bullseye in Fox’s pre-MCU Daredevil, in which he starred opposite future and former Batman Ben Affleck.
Batman was last seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, following an earlier appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and a brief cameo in Suicide Squad. While Affleck, who played Bruce Wayne in those movies, was originally set to star in and direct The Batman, he decided not to return after he had trouble cracking the script.
The Batman will not be an origin story, although it’s also not expected to have any ties to Warner Bros.’ struggling DC Extended Universe, which will include upcoming features Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, and Birds of Prey. DReeves describes The Batman as a grounded, “noir-driven” take on the superhero that will play up Bruce Wayne’s detective skills, although he’ll clearly also have plenty of villains to fight. The Batman will hit theaters on June 25, 2021.
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