Home Entertainment The Batman: Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell in talks for Alfred, The Penguin respectively

The Batman: Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell in talks for Alfred, The Penguin respectively

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The Dark Knight is rising again. Writer/director Matt Reeves’ The Batman is starting to come together rather quickly now after ages of us knowing nothing. Robert Pattinson will be donning the cape and cowl as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he’ll be joined by Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Jim Gordon, Zoe Kravitz as Selena Kyle/Catwoman, and Paul Dano as Edward Nygma/The Riddler (though I’m hearing the character’s name will be changed to Edward Nashton). That right there is already a crazy strong cast but Reeves is apparently not done with stacking his film with star power.

The Wrap reports that the filmmaker is currently in talks with past collaborator Andy Serkis to join the production as Bruce Wayne’s faithful (and secretly skilled) butler and confidant Alfred Pennyworth. Serkis had previously worked with Reeves on the critically acclaimed Planet of the Apes films where he provided the incredible mo-cap performance for Ceasar the ape.

Serkis is not an obvious choice for the role most recently played on screen by Jeremy Irons and Michael Caine, however he is a pretty exciting one. He may be best known for his mo-cap work, but he’s a damn fine traditional actor. He also appears to be collecting stamps when it comes to working comic book cinematic universes. Serkis played the villainous Ulysses Klaue for Marvel, he will be directing the upcoming Venom 2 for Sony, and now will get to hop in the DCEU as well if this report gets confirmed.

Another actor who is no stranger to comic book movies is Colin Farrell, although his turn as Bullseye in Daredevil is probably best forgotten. According to a report from Deadline though, he’s apparently in talks to play another mentally unhinged comic book villain as Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin.

There’s definitely no doubt as to Farrell’s ability to act the hell out of this gig, but much more than Serkis’ potential role above, this is quite the surprising bit of casting news. Farrell looks nothing like the traditionally rotund depictions of the deformed crime boss, who was most famously played onscreen by Danny DeVito in 1992’s Batman Returns. If both these roles get officially confirmed, then consider me very intrigued – even more than before – for what Reeves has planned here.

Outside of these reports, there have also been some exciting rumours from usually very reliable scooper Thomas Polito. According to his sources, “the movie is going to play out very much like a Sherlock Holmes story with Catwoman as Batman’s Irene Adler & Riddler as his Moriarty” and “Gordon is his Watson”. Polito goes on to say that “Reeves is also building a world similar to the animated shows & comics where all the villains are already out there.” As somebody who has longed to see the proper “world’s greatest detective” side of Batman on-screen and who is also loathed to run through more time-sapping (and usually pretty crappy) villain origin stories, I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. If true, of course.

The Batman is scheduled for release on 25 June 2021.

Last Updated: November 6, 2019

15 Comments

  1. This is shaping up quite nicely. The detective bits were a bit lacking in the world’s greatest detective’s outings on screen

    Reply

  2. LegionZA

    November 7, 2019 at 05:42

    This is shaping up quite nicely. The detective bits were a bit lacking in the world’s greatest detective’s outings on screen

    Reply

  3. G8crasha

    November 7, 2019 at 05:46

    The Penguin is portrayed as short and squat. Collin Farrell is far from that! Are they going for a new take on the Penguin?!

    Reply

  4. G8crasha

    November 7, 2019 at 05:46

    The Penguin is portrayed as short and squat. Collin Farrell is far from that! Are they going for a new take on the Penguin?!

    Reply

  5. G8crasha

    November 7, 2019 at 05:46

    The Penguin is portrayed as short and squat. Collin Farrell is far from that! Are they going for a new take on the Penguin?!

    Reply

  6. BradeLunner

    November 7, 2019 at 05:51

    Paul Dano is going to nail it as the Riddler, not too keen on the name change though. Being resistant to change is one thing, but the original name is punny!

    Reply

  7. LegionZA

    November 7, 2019 at 05:42

    This is shaping up quite nicely. The detective bits were a bit lacking in the world’s greatest detective’s outings on screen

    Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      November 7, 2019 at 05:44

      Bruce Wayne: “Hey Fox, do you have a gadget for this? I need it to…”
      Batman: “I am now the worlds greatest detective.”

      Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      November 7, 2019 at 05:44

      Bruce Wayne: “Hey Fox, do you have a gadget for this? I need it to…”
      Batman: “I am now the worlds greatest detective.”

      Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      November 7, 2019 at 05:44

      Bruce Wayne: “Hey Fox, do you have a gadget for this? I need it to…”
      Batman: “I am now the worlds greatest detective.”

      Reply

  8. G8crasha

    November 7, 2019 at 05:46

    The Penguin is portrayed as short and squat. Collin Farrell is far from that! Are they going for a new take on the Penguin?!

    Reply

    • BradeLunner

      November 7, 2019 at 05:51

      With a British accent, so at least he’s got that covered.

      Reply

    • BradeLunner

      November 7, 2019 at 05:51

      With a British accent, so at least he’s got that covered.

      Reply

  9. BradeLunner

    November 7, 2019 at 05:51

    Paul Dano is going to nail it as the Riddler, not too keen on the name change though. Being resistant to change is one thing, but the original name is punny!

    Reply

  10. Son of Banana Jim

    November 22, 2019 at 11:13

    Is it weird that I want it to be the other way around? I want Colin Farrell to be Alfred and Andy Serkis to be the Penguin. I mean just imagine Andy getting into character as the Penguin. He could legitimately kill the role (like Heath Ledger did with Joker and Joachin Phoenix has done with the recent Joker movie).

    Reply

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