The return of Michael Keaton’s take on Batman in DC’s upcoming The Flash and Batgirl films has led to many fans wondering exactly how big a part that version of Batman will play in those stores, but now it seems as if we might get a bit more of his universe coming our way—well, sort of.
According to Screen Rant, there is a series of deleted images and tweets that seem to suggest the inclusion of Oswald Cobblepot in the upcoming HBO Max film Batgirl, starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon. With Keaton’s return, the inclusion of a character like Cobblepot has minds thinking back to Batman Returns and the iconic portrayal of the Penguin by Danny DeVito.
The fact that the images/tweets keep getting deleted does make it seem like someone is trying to keep something under wraps about Batgirl, and according to ScreenRant, one of them showed a reference to Lex Luthor in the headline of a prop newspaper. But the reality is that we know very little about what Leslie Grace’s first outing as Barbara Gordon has in store for us—other than including Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne as her guide.
Currently, fans are gearing up for a new take on the Penguin with Colin Farrell in The Batman, but the caricature that DeVito brought to life is the one that many think to when they think about the Penguin. But the problem with this theory is that the Penguin died at the end of Batman Returns so how exactly could a return of DeVito’s Cobblepot work?
Cobblepot was dead
The end of Batman Returns had Oswald Cobblepot brought into his watery grave by his loyal penguins after a run-in with the Dark Knight. Batman and Catwoman both left relatively unharmed, and Bruce was alone but still thinking about Selina Kyle at the end of the film—the important part here being that the Penguin was dead. So if he’s somehow back for Batgirl, I have bigger questions about what happens in The Flash.
Sure, I guess you could say that the Penguins carried their human leader into the water and he somehow wasn’t dead and waited decades to come back for Bruce. But I also think that time is going to get wobbly with The Flash so if it all means that Cobblepot is somehow back and it is Danny DeVito, then all the better for us all.
There are really only two ways to do the Penguin: the cartoonish way that DeVito played him or the more realistic crime lord way that Farrell seems to be taking on. Anything in between isn’t really the Penguin at all. So if they’re bringing DeVito back, then at least we know what kind of vibe we’re going to get from Batgirl In comparison to the serial killer take on the Riddler that we’re going to get with The Batman.
The world of Gotham can be cartoonish or it can be one of the darkest places in the comic book world, and DeVito’s involvement would confirm exactly where Barbara Gordon’s film is going to fall. Let’s just hope that there’s some truth to the rumors.
(image: Warner Bros.)
