'The Batman': Colin Farrell's Penguin drew inspiration from Fredo from 'The Godfather'

Touted as one of the most anticipated films for the year 2022, Matt Reeves is all set to introduce Robert Pattinson as the cape crusader in The Batman. Although the film will focus on Batman chasing criminal mastermind Riddler off the city of Gotham, the dark knight will have to deal with an unexpected mobster determine to earn his name in the criminal world. Essayed by Colin Farrell, Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin is revealed to have drawn similarities from another nefarious villain in cinema, Fredo Corleone from The Godfather movies.

Batman's Penguin inspired by The Godfather's Fredo

Director Matt Reeves recently opened up to the Empire magazine about taking inspiration from numerous gangsters from a variety of criminal films for Colin Farrell's version Penguin in The Batman. Echoing his words, actor Farrell told Empire magazine that his character was heavily influenced by Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film The Godfather's Fredo Corleone played by John Cazale. Drawing similarities between the flamboyant gangster of Gotham city and the black sheep of the Corleone family, the 45-year-old shed some light on his character. 

Stating that Reeves mentioned Fredo while discussing the role of Penguin, he said, ''Fredo’s crippled by the insignificance that he lives within, in a family that is full of very strong, very bright, very capable, very violent men. Which is why he commits the act of betrayal that he does because he’s weak, he’s kind of broken, and he’s in pain.'' He added, ''There is a kind of fracture at the core of Oz, which fuels his desire and his ambition to rise within this criminal cabal.''

Considering the hype around the venture, fans would not be surprised if there was a The Batman sequel on the cards with many anticipating it already. Colin Farrell is no exception, as he concluded his statement by saying, ''Where that rise goes… I would love to get to explore that in the second film if that was ever to happen."

More The Batman

Directed by Matt Reeves, Robert Pattinson is set to play the role of Batman as he puts his exceptional detective skills to test while unearthing the criminal activities carried out by Riddler, played by Paul Dano, off the records of Gotham city. It will also feature Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. The Batman is slated for a release on March 4, 2022.

Image: Instagram/@mundo_cinematografico1/colinfarrellupdates