Warner Bros. Pictures releasedthe first official trailerfor Matt Reeves’The Batmanat DC FanDome. The preview gave fans their first official look at Colin Farrell, nearly unrecognizable as Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. the Penguin. Fans weren’t the only ones who didn’t clock Farrell as the classic DC Comics villain at first; his co-star Jeffrey Wright admitted that he was among those who were fooled.
Earlier this year, set photos of Colin Farrell caused fans to believe thathis incarnation of the PenguininThe Batmanwould have a different appearance than his shorter, bird-nosed comic book counterpart. However, the first official trailer forThe Batmanrevealed prosthetic and makeup would be used to transform Farrell into a character that more closely resembled the villain in the comics.
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During an interview with SiriusXM, Wright, who portrays James Gordon inThe Batman, recounted how he wasn’t able to recognize Farrell either even when they were on set together. “I’ve worked with that makeup artist before and it’s just incredible. Colin walked on to set one day and I walked right passed him [laughs] I was like ‘ok, hey dude what’s happening, where’s Colin are we going to shoot.’ It was, it’s pretty remarkable,” Wright explained. The makeup designer forThe Batmanis Naomi Donne, who recently earned anAcademy Award nominationfor her work in1917and previously worked onQuantum Solacein which Wright starred as Felix Leiter.
While Matt Reeves' take on Batman is not the first to offer audiences agrounded and ‘realistic’ version of the character, Wright explained how the new film still has an opportunity to move the superhero genre in a new direction. “Comic book films have sucked a lot of oxygen from the cinematic room. But withBatmanwe have an opportunity to use all of the trappings of that genre to explore some things in an American city through a lens of crime, corruption that are really grounded and relevant and interesting. So the detective work there is an exploration of Gotham but it also becomes an exploration of a city very much like New York City,” Wright said after noting that he was drawn to the project after reading the script and realizing that it was honoring the concept of Batman being the world’s greatest detective.
The Batmanwas one of the multiple productions forced to shut down earlier this year due to the COVID-19. Fortunately,filming is now scheduled to resume in September, following a six-month hiatus.
While reactions to Colin Farrell’s appearance as the Penguin were generally positive, it has also raised questions for some fans. Although Farrell is an admittedly talented actor, the fact this new version of the Penguin appears to be an average human being does raise the question of why the filmmakerscouldn’t cast someone who wouldn’t need the extensive makeupto portray the character.
The Batmanis scheduled to be released in theaters on June 28, 2025.
