A few weeks back, actor Josh Gad posted a picture of the famous Batman villain, The Penguin, on his Twitter page, leading many to believe that was either in contention to play the character in one of the upcoming films in the DCEU or was campaigning to play him. Well, it seems like it’s more so the latter, and if anything, it’s less “campaigning” and more just “having some fun.”
In an interview with MTV News, Gad reiterates that his posting of the picture was just him having some fun. He said:
“Just having some fun! 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.”
He then goes on to say that he’s never met The Batman director Matt Reeves, which makes sense, given that he’s still deep in post-production on War for the Planet of the Apes. Gad continues by telling MTV that he would’t be opposed to playing the character, and that he’s just, “Putting it out into the ether!”.
Honestly, I don’t know what to make of this. Firstly, this could all be misdirection, as Warner Bros. is setting up not only The Batman, but also a few Batman-related spin-offs, including David Ayer‘s upcoming Gotham City Sirens down the line. So there’s obviously a chance for the infamous villain to show up in one of those films (especially considering Ayer himself posted a picture of another Batman villain, Black Mask, to promote that he would be in his film).
On the other hand, maybe Gad is just having fun. Yes, he would physically fit the role (almost too well), but the idea of The Penguin being younger than the Dark Knight himself is a little odd to me. Given that we’re bound to get more info on the DCEU’s upcoming slate at this year’s Comic-Con, I don’t think we’ll get a clear answer on this until then.
Both Gotham City Sirens and The Batman are currently without release dates.
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