One of the highlights for me with regard to the 2022 modern superhero masterpiece The Batman is how much it steered into the horror-adjacent aspect of Gotham City and its denizens. Not only is Batman himself evoking fear to the superstitious, cowardly lot (aka criminals) but the villains themselves hew closer to monsters than men. Specifically in the first film a very Zodiac Killer-inspired slasher in the form of the Riddler. According to Colin Farrell (who of course plays Oz Cobb, aka the Penguin), we can expect an even scarier Gotham in The Batman – Part II.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the Zurich Film Festival, Farrell discussed his continuing role as the Penguin. “I’ve got an even smaller role in this one. But I’m OK with that,” Farrell said. “I’ve read the script, from start to finish, and I can’t say much about it. But it’s deeper, scarier, the stakes are bigger. I’m really excited to see it.”
This is a bold thing to say, especially considering both The Batman and spinoff series The Penguin boasted incredibly deep and nuanced characters with pretty enormous stakes. We’ve heard elsewhere that The Batman – Part II would feature villains “never really done” in movies before. Lots of fans have placed bets on the likes of Dr. Hugo Strange, Hush, or most commonly the Court of Owls as potential baddies. We also hear that the movie will be more about Bruce Wayne than Batman. Though how exactly it could be is anyone’s guess.
Whoever the villain or villains end up being in The Batman – Part II, the idea of continuing the scariest onscreen version of Gotham to date is exciting. Darkness alone doesn’t make Batman good, but mystery and horror tied in? Pizza chef! Muah! Now we just have *checks calendar* two years to wait. Oh dear.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.