Irish Eye on Hollywood: Farrell to Channel DeVito’s Evil Penguin in The Batman Flick

It would take quite a dedicated film historian, or very creative film producer, to pick out any role in movie history that both hunky Colin Farrell and balding and barrel-shaped Danny DeVito could both play. But that is yet another way superhero movies have changed the world. Because three decades after DeVito played the evil Penguin during the Michael Keaton Batman years, Colin Farrell has signed on to play the same role in the latest reboot of the caped crusader’s franchise. Currently slated to be released with the title The Batman, Robert Pattinson assumes the title role, following in the footsteps of Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney. The Batman is not scheduled to be released until next year, and also stars Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, and Andy Serkis. Until then, Farrell – seen recently in Guy Ritchie’s latest guy flick The Gentlemen – has numerous movies on the way. There’s the sci-fi robot drama After Yang, about humans who grow too close to their robot babysitters; the outer-space adventure Voyagers, about a crew that goes mad while seeking other worlds; and, finally, the thriller Ava, which also stars John Malkovich and Jessica Chastain. ♦