It's clear where Danny DeVito stands with his opinions on Batman and Penguin. Back in 1992, DeVito appeared in Tim Burton's Batman sequel Batman Returns as a live-action version of Oswald Cobblepot. Personally quite fond of the supervillain, DeVito also teamed up with DC to write a comic book story for the Penguin that was released last year.
These days, DeVito can be heard as the voice of Satan in the animated sitcom Little Demon, which premiered on FXX this week. In the video, which also features DeVito's daughter and Little Demon co-star Lucy DeVito, the Penguin actor is hooked up to a lie detector and then asked various questions. The subject of Batman comes up with DeVito is shown a photo of Batman Returns actor Michael Keaton, and this has DeVito honestly stating that Keaton is his favorite Batman, and that he really doesn't care much for any of the other live-action Batman actors.
"This is my favorite. This is Michael Keaton. He was the Batman when I was the Penguin... I don't know what (the other Batman actors) look like because they're behind the mask. I don't, they're not, this is the Batman for me."
In The Batman, Colin Farrell plays the newest incarnation of Oswald Cobblepot. In the past, DeVito has said some very nice things about Farrell's Penguin, but the lie detector shows how he really feels about the situation. DeVito praises Farrell on a personal level, with no lies detected when he refers to the actor as a "good guy." However, DeVito also bluntly declares his own version of Penguin to be superior, a feeling backed up by the lie detector test.
"Oh, Colin? I love Colin. He's a terrific guy. My Penguin's better. Was that the truth? It certainly was, in my opinion. It's my opinion, yeah. Good man, though. Colin's a good guy."
Danny DeVito Still Enjoyed Colin Farrell's Penguin
Perhaps Danny DeVito may prefer his own version of the Penguin, though that doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate what Colin Farrell brought to the character. Speaking about the situation previously with TheWrap, DeVito explained how he's partial to Tim Burton's Batman movies, but that he still took the time to watch The Batman when it was released.
"My feeling of comparing the two movies, I’m like a Tim Burton fan," DeVito said. "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, but I did watch the movie.”
On Farrell, DeVito added, "I thought Colin did a great job. 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 the 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.”
Farrell will have more time to spend in that makeup chair, as a spinoff of The Batman is in the works at HBO Max which will tell the story of the rise of the Gotham City supervillain.