New rumors have surfaced suggesting Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin, won’t be involved in
Birds of Prey after all. Instead, it’s believed Warner Bros. will focus on utilizing the villain in
Matt Reeves’ Batman solo flick as originally planned.
Past chatter suggested
Penguin would appear in one of the films, but with
Birds of Prey’s rumor mill of who’s in and who’s out in constant motion, Cobblepot’s purported axing from the script via The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez should also be taken with a grain of salt, especially as he was never confirmed in the first place.
The Penguin made his big-screen debut in 1992, in Tim Burton’s
Batman Returns, played by Danny DeVito.
Josh Gad has repeatedly teased his interest in the past in playing the villain, with speculation going as far back as May 2017. It remains to be seen how Reeves will shape his take on the Dark Knight, with details on who’ll wear the cowl, which villain Batman will actually face and how the movie fits into the studio’s current continuity still all to be revealed.
As for
Birds of Prey, none of the heroes involved have been confirmed, so it’s no surprise the studio hasn’t addressed the movie’s villain. The latest rumors suggest focus will be placed on
Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Huntress and Cassandra Cain, with
Barbara Gordon featured outside of her Batgirl alter-ego.
It’s believed they will join Renee Montoya in what
Robbie pitched to the studio as “an R-rated girl gang film.” Cathy Yan is attached to direct from a script by Christina Hodson, who also wrote the story for the
Batgirl film that’s also in development for Warner Bros.