Danny DeVito talks Colin Farrell as the Penguin – and says he's open to returning as the villain

Danny DeVito as the Penguin in Batman Returns
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Danny DeVito has said he approves of Colin Farrell as The Penguin – and said he'd like to return as the character.

"I love Colin Farrell. He's one of my favorite actors. I can't wait!" DeVito told Forbes. An unrecognizable Farrell will play the role in Matt Reeves' The Batman, which is due out next year. DeVito, meanwhile, played Penguin in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, released in 1992.

As for whether his incarnation of Oswald Cobblepot could return, DeVito was optimistic. "I feel like it's not out of the question that The Penguin will return someday, but this is all up to Tim, whether or not Tim wants to do this," he said. "I would say that could be in the cards because we ain't dead yet [laughs]. We could do a continuation of what we had in the past because that was truly a brilliant movie. They afforded me that opportunity and I feel very grateful and would I like to revisit it? Why not! It was a really great moment in time for me."

Penguin is also reportedly getting his own spin-off series for HBO Max, so expect to see a lot more of him if that makes it to screen – especially considering it doesn't sound like he's in The Batman very much.

"I'm only in it for five or six scenes, so I can't wait to see the film because it won't be ruined by my presence," Farrell has said. "Really, it's a freebie for me. I'll get a little bit uncomfortable for the fucking nine minutes I have, and then the rest of it, I cannot wait to see how he [Matt Reeves, director] brought this world to life, because the sets were extraordinary, the production design [was] extraordinary, his use of music and sound will be extraordinary, and as you said the cast, from, all of them, Robert [Pattinson] and Zoë [Kravitz] to – yeah, extraordinary cast."

The Batman arrives March 4, 2022. In the meantime, check out our guide to watching DC movies in order to get up to speed on the DCEU.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.