Colin Farrell will be appearing in Matt Reeves' upcoming film The Batman as the nefarious penguin. Little is known about the specifics of plot and characters that will feature in the movie, but every actor and technician involved with the project has praised Reeves' vision for a new take on the Dark Knight. In an interview with SFX magazine, Farrell revealed his excitement over being a part of a Batman movie that feels completely original:

"The whole prospect is really exciting. I'm ecstatic to be part of that universe. There are certain words that are part of my internal lexicon and those words are Gotham City, Penguin, Joker, Batman, Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent... all of those things."

"I have been watching the Batman films with my kids, but this script is something that feels incredibly original. It leans into it but it doesn't borrow; it's born of the mythology of that character, Bruce Wayne, Batman and Gotham. But it feels like a treatment and a version that I hadn't seen before. Matt Reeves has done an incredible job of keeping it familiar and at the same time unique and new. It's really exciting to be a part of it."

Interestingly, while the actor may be gearing up to play one of Batman's arch-enemies, there was a time two decades ago when Farrell himself was set to portray the caped crusader on the big screen, in a Batman Vs. Superman movie that would have also seen Jude Law in the role of the Man of Steel. Director Wolfgang Peterson was set to direct the feature, and he recently teased the storyline of the film that could have been until circumstances had forced them to scrap the project:

"It was the darkest thing you've ever seen. It started with Alfred's funeral and Bruce has fallen in love and renounced being Batman, the Joker kills his wife, and then you discover it was all a lie. Just that the love itself was constructed by the Joker to break [Bruce]."

Colin Farrell may have missed out on the chance to be Batman, but the future of the caped crusader appears to be in good hands with Robert Pattinson, who is set to play the character across a trilogy of films under Matt Reeves. Zoë Kravitz, who plays Catwoman, has spoken with great enthusiasm in the past about the unique features the actor brings to the role:

"We have the illusion of Bruce Wayne. and then we have Batman in the shadows that has a lot more complicated things going on. So just in that, I think he's perfect for this role. He can relate in that way. And he looks good in the suit, man. He looks good in the suit. That's a good jaw line."

Directed and co-written by Matt Reeves, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Jayme Lawson, and Peter Sarsgaard. The film arrives in theaters on Oct. 1, 2021. Metro first reported this.