‘The Batman’: Jack Black Is Down to Play Penguin

Jumanji star Jack Black is open to playing Batman villain the Penguin.

“Is there talk of me as the Penguin? Are we starting it?” Black told ET with a laugh when promoting The House With a Clock in Its Walls. “Uh, yeah, that would be a role, that would be fun.”

Asked if he’d really be into it, Black said, “I mean, I hate to put myself out there and say that because then when I don’t get that part, it was, ‘Oh, Jack tried to get the thing.’ I didn’t try anything! I’m just saying maybe that would be good.”

Black then went on to perform an impromptu audition, imitating Burgess Meredith’s famous “quack” cackle from the Adam West-led Batman series.

One of the Dark Knight’s most famous and recurring foes, the Penguin is reportedly the leading villain in writer-director Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

The comedian, who has taken more dramatic turns in King Kong and Bernie, might face competition for the role from Josh Gad as the Frozen star continues to flirt with the role.

“[I’m] just having some fun,” Gad told MTV News in 2017.

“Just having some fun! Really, I promise! There’s nothing to… there’s nothing there. The Internet just goes wild. I’m just having some fun putting things out there.”

Reeves has remained mum on the subject of The Batman‘s primary foe. Asked by THR in recent days of Gad’s repeated teasing of the role, Reeves said, “I love Josh Gad. We’re good friends.”

Details remain scarce, but Reeves’ DC Extended Universe entry will center on a younger Batman and is now on the hunt for a familiar face to replace Ben Affleck.

“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale,” Reeves said of the project, now in the process of whittling down its hefty 160-page script.

“It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional.

“It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.”

Warner Bros. has dated The Batman for June 25, 2021.