Danny DeVito has given his approval to the latest movie version of the Penguin. In an interview with The Wrap, DeVito shared his thoughts on Colin Farrell's performance in director Matt Reeves' film The Batman.
When asked if he had seen the most recent Batman movie, DeVito shared his thoughts on the film. "Yes I did. I thought Colin did a great job," said DeVito. "Certainly a different milieu. I think it was a more edgy, serious, gangster-y Batman. Of course there's three Italians who are bad guys in it, the Falcones (laughs). But I feel like in terms of performances, I thought Colin - who is a good buddy of mine - I think he did a great job in that. You take your hat off to anybody who sits in the makeup chair that long. I did it with The Penguin and loved it." Reeves said that one of the influences for Farrell's version of Penguin was Fredo Corleone from Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather movies. This was a very different take from DeVito's version in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, where the character lived in Gotham's sewers with actual penguins and the Red Triangle Gang (a group of former circus performers).
DeVito also gave his thoughts on comparing Reeves' film to what Burton had done in Batman Returns. "My feeling of comparing the two movies, I'm like a Tim Burton fan," said DeVito. "I like the whimsical, the operatic, the disaffected Pee-wee Herman throws me off a bridge (laughs). That makes me smile. So it's a different situation." In Reeve's more realistic take on the Batman franchise, it's unlikely that Farrell's version of Penguin will take over the Batmobile (with Batman still inside) or drive a giant rubber duck vehicle in one of the sequels.
Although it's been 30 years since DeVito last played the Penguin, he has recently worked in the Batman universe again. He wrote the "Bird Cat Love" comic book story in DC's anthology book Gotham City Villains, which was published last November. DeVito isn't the only actor from the Burton-era to still be involved in the Batman franchise. His co-star Michael Keaton is set to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the upcoming films The Flash (directed by Andy Muschietti) and Batgirl (directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah). Farrell also has future plans as the Penguin, and will reprise the role in an upcoming television spin-off for HBO Max.
The Batman will be available to stream on HBO Max on April 18. In the meantime, fans can see DeVito as Penguin in 1992's Batman Returns, which is currently available to stream on HBO Max.