Colin Farrell (Thirteen Lives) spoke about new information regarding his continuation as Oswald Cobblepot in spinoff series of Matt Reeves’ (Let Me In) The Batman, according to an interview with Variety. A series that will expand The Batman universe will focus on one of his adversaries, the Penguin, and will release on HBO max. During Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, Farrell spoke with Variety about how he didn’t expect his role in The Batman as Cobblepot to expand.
According to the interview with Variety, Farrell said, “The only thing I had an idea was that I wasn’t nearly getting to explore the character as much as I wanted to.Because there was all this extraordinary work done by makeup artists Mike Marino (Black Swan) and Mike Fontaine (The Irishman) and his team, and 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. I was grateful for them, but I wanted more.”
Farrell goes on to also say, “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. He’s just such a genius, Mike, so it was his work that was the inspiration, really.” The makeup made such an amazing disguise that while in Ireland, Farrell went to a Starbucks in make up where no one even batted an eye.
Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, is one of Batman’s nemesis throughout comic, animation, and live adaptation history. The character is described as a mobster who usually who, when depicted, wears a top hat, monocle and even an umbrella. Farrell is one of the latest to take on the mantle of the character as many other actors have before such as Danny DeVito (Matilda) and Robin Lord Taylor (The Walking Dead).
To fans waiting for the series, according to Farrell, production for The Penguin series will begin in February and it will take five to six months of shooting.
Full Interview Below.