Danny DeVito says his Penguin was better than Colin Farrell's
In a competition between a freak who grew up in a sewer with his own army of penguins against a mobster, it's no contest.
Danny DeVito reckons his version of an iconic Batman villain is better than Colin Farrell's portrayal.
When it comes to discussing who did a Batman villain better there's no shortage of new takes and debates to be had.
People on the internet can go back and forth over the old 'best Joker of all time' debate (the correct answer is Mark Hamill, by the way), but not quite as many people talk so much about who had the better Penguin.
Gotham City's shortest umbrella-loving mob boss has been in a few movies, but prompts nothing like the same level of discussion as the Clown Prince of Crime.
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Burgess Meredith played him all the way back in 1966's Batman: The Movie, while Danny DeVito brought him to life for 1992 flick Batman Returns.
The most recent portrayal of the Gotham gangster came from Colin Farrell, who played him in The Batman, which was released earlier this year.
There can be a lot of talk about which one was the best, but Danny DeVito is pretty sure he knows the answer and – surprise, surprise – he thinks it's himself.
During a recent interview for Vanity Fair where he was hooked up to a lie detector machine, DeVito said: "I love Colin, he's a terrific guy. My Penguin was better. It's my opinion. Good man, though. Colin's a good guy."
On the one hand, Colin Farrell never led an army of penguins with missiles strapped to their back in an attack on Gotham City, and when it comes to the gadget-based umbrellas Penguin often uses in the comics he was sorely lacking.
Then again, DeVito's Penguin got upstaged in his own movie by some guy called Shreck who owned a department store and wanted to steal electricity, plus he died by falling into some water that was running through his own evil lair.
This isn't the first time Danny DeVito has talked about Colin Farrell's take on the villain in The Batman, saying Farrell did 'a great job' shortly after the movie came out.
He praised Farrell's Penguin for fitting a 'more edgy, serious, gangster-y' type feeling that The Batman was going for, compared to Tim Burton's dark and zany style in Batman Returns.
Each one fits the type of movie they're in, DeVito's Penguin would have looked very out of place trying to fight Robert Pattinson's Batman, while Farrell's version would have been a bit too gritty for Tim Burton's weird world.
Farrell has a Penguin spin-off series in the works with HBO Max to do something more with the character, he'll be executive producing it as well as starring in the lead role.
Maybe Danny DeVito can get a cameo in it. Fingers crossed.
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Topics: Film and TV, Batman
Joe Harker