‘The Batman’ Director Matt Reeves Reacts to Josh Gad Teasing Penguin Role

DC fans got a thrill this week, as director Matt Reeves revealed some of the first official plans and details of The Batman – the first official information about the film that we’ve heard in like a year. Well, there can be no mention of The Batman without actor Josh Gad hearing wind of it. Gad has spent the least year (jokingly?) campaigning on social media to land himself the role of The Penguin in the next Batman – and he’s still keeping at it!

After rumor surfaced that The Penguin could be one of the villains featured in the next Batman movie, Josh Gad once again let it be known that he was game to take on the role. Well, Matt Reeves has heard the actor’s petitioning, and shared the following response with THR:

“Reeves is remaining mum when asked if The Batman will feature villains new to the big screen or baddies audiences have seen before, but when pressed he did react to Josh Gad’s not-so-subtle Twitter teases that fans have interpreted as the actor lobbying to play the classic villain The Penguin.

‘I love Josh Gad,’ Reeves says, noting that his son is in class with the actor’s daughter. “We’re good friends.’“

That’s a great way of saying nothing, while also giving DC fans a wide enough window of (hope? Dread?) to start buzzing about the possibility of Josh Gad playing Penguin. Since the Frozen 2 star started his informal push to land the role, DC fans have had mixed reactions to the notion. Gad certainly has the look to play a live-action version of Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin, and it’s hard to pin him down into any one category as an actor, as he’s proven to be versatile with his talents. He’s done comedy and drama, mysteries and musicals, and been a scene-stealer in each role.

Now that we know The Batman will be very much a Noir detective story, having a character like Penguin in the mix makes sense. Cobblepot has become much more of a gangland middle-man in modern DC Comics lore; whatever case Batman is investigating in this new film, if it’s set in Gotham City, you can bet that he will need to cross paths with Penguin in order to get information, and track a lead into the lion’s (or rather, penguin’s) den. Without knowing how connected (if at all) The Batman is to the larger DCEU, this new version of Penguin may have to be a spiritual sibling of sorts to Jared Leto’s Joker. Wonder how Josh Gad feels about gold grills and face tattoos…

The DC Movie Universe continues with Aquaman in theaters now, Shazam on April 5th, Joker in theaters on October 4th, and Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters on June 5th, 2020.

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