Josh Gad Jokes He’s Playing DC’s The Penguin in April Fool’s Day Post

Years may pass and trends may come and go, but some comic book movie fancasts never truly go away. Some would argue that the idea of Josh Gad playing DC’s The Penguin is within that category, as the Frozen and The Book of Mormon actor has been tied to the role in unofficial capacities for several years now. The possibility of Gad portraying the character stretched across the casting process for Matt Reeves’ The Batman, during which Gad himself had to debunk the rumors, and Colin Farrell ultimately claimed the role. But with April Fool’s Day on Thursday, Gad took the opportunity to poke fun at the fancasting, posting fanart of himself as The Penguin to Instagram with “confirmation” that he’s starring in a Joker-like origin story for the character.

For anyone who might have believed Gad’s post, he took to Instagram later in the day to confirm that yes, it was just an April Fool’s Day joke.

Gad has been “teasing” his portrayal of The Penguin in one way or another since 2017, with the actor having to confirm that year that it has not been anything concrete.

“Just having some fun,” Gad reaffirmed to MTV News at the time. “Really, I promise! There’s nothing to… there’s no there there. The internet just goes wild. I’m just having some fun putting things out there.”

“I felt like I was just taking it to a point that it just went too far,” Gad later told MTV News in 2019. “I’ve had so much fun with it, but it was just something where I was like, ‘I should really put this to bed.’ Everyday, I started getting asked questions about it. And I’m like, ‘As far as I know, I am not the Penguin. I need to put this all to bed then.’”

“Honest to God, I’ve just been having fun,” Gad continued. “I just wanted to get into the trolling of it all. It was fun.”

The rumors even caught the attention of The Batman director Matt Reeves, who revealed in 2019 that he’s “good friends” with Gad because their children share a class together.

What do you think of Josh Gad’s latest trolling tied to The Penguin? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!