The first official trailer for the much-anticipated reboot, The Batman, with Robert Pattinson in the titular role of the Dark Knight, premiered at the DC FanDome virtual convention on Saturday.
And while many fans marveled at director Matt Reeves’ interpretation of the iconic comic book franchise with a dark, gritty look and ominous tone, others can’t stop talking about Colin Farrell as the villainous Penguin.
With the help of some incredible prosthetics and makeup work, Farrell transforms into his version of Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin, who makes three brief appearances in the two-minute-plus teaser.
Scroll down to video
Movie magic: Colin Farrell’s incredible transformation into Penguin for The Batman has fans and journalists heaping praise on the prosthetics and makeup work
In his first scene, he can be seen standing in the rain looking like a formidable foe, with an angry and vicious scowl on his face.
An even quicker clip shows what appears to be Penguin and his villainous cohorts firing their guns while in the midst of a shootout.
In a final shot, Penguin is engaged in a high-speed chase through the streets of Gotham City with the Batmobile in pursuit. During all the high-octane action he looks into his rearview mirror and giddily remarks, This guy’s crazy!’
High octane: In another scene, Penguin is engaged in a high-speed chase through the streets of Gotham City with the Batmobile in pursuit, where he giddily remarks, This guy’s crazy!’
Iconic: Robert Pattinson steps into the titular role as the Dark Knight in The Batman
Leading all the high-flying action: The Batman is being directed by Matt Reeves, who’s best known for film Cloverfield (2008), Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014) and War For The Planet Of The Apes (2017)
Following the release of The Batman trailer, fans and movie industry journalists wasted little time into taking to social media to comment on Farrell’s transformation.
‘Wait is Twitter messing with me or is this really Colin Farrell as Penguin in the Batman trailer? If so this is one of the best transformation makeups I’ve ever seen?’ John Squires, editor and chief for @BDisgusting, posted on Twitter.
‘Wow, so #TheBatman teaser trailer is beyond SICK!! What is also astonishing is that this is Colin Farrell as Penguin!! He’s completely unrecognizable! Can’t wait to see this!!!!’ @MakerBot videographer Mateo Shulman tweeted.
Erik Anderson, founder/owner of @awards_watch commented: ‘Wait…that’s Colin Farrell in #TheBatman?’
Flurry: The comments over Farrell as Penguin came fast and furious on social media
Most commented on how unrecognizable Farrell looks as Penguin
Mesmerized: Many fans and journalists had to do a double-take when they saw the Irish actor, 44, in the role of Penguin
A slew of people commented about how much Farrell’s Penguin resembled Mad About You and Spin City actor, Richard Kind.
‘No lie. I thought Colin Farrell was Richard Kind,’ film critic Robert Daniels shared on Twitter.
Jamie Jirak, staff writer with @comicbook, was among the many people who had to do a double-take when they first saw the 44-year-old Irish actor in the role.
‘I had to search the eyes to confirm this is, in fact, my man Colin Farrell,’ he commented.
From the sounds of all the social media chatter praising the prosthetics and makeup work, as well as the general approval for Reeves’ first teaser, there’s no doubt this will help boost the film’s boom at the box office and beyond.
‘Seeing this photo of Colin Farrell as the Penguin has put me fully in the ‘on board’ camp for The Batman. Apologies in advance,’ movie bracket fka wrote, which was another common sentiment on social media.
Resemblance? A slew of people commented on how Farrell’s Penguin looks like America actor Richard Kind, who’s best known for his roles on Mad About You and Spin City
Iconic: Farrell’s Penguin looks like a formidable foe with his angry scowl
Impressed: A number of skeptical people were so impressed with the transformation, that they are now ‘on board’ with seeing the film when it drops next year
It turns out production for The Batman is far from being complete, which was largely due to the mass closures of TV and movie sets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘We’ve only shot 25% of the movie but there was no way I couldn’t show part of the movie,’ director Reeves revealed on Sunday during his panel discussion, as reported by Deadline.
Along with Pattinson and Farrell, The Batman also stars Jeffrey Wright as Gotham Police Department commissioner James Gordon; John Turturro as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Zoe Kravitiz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman; Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/Riddler; Barry Keoghan as Stanley Merkel; Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth.
The Batman is slated to hit theaters an October 1, 2021.
Making waves: Farrell made his film debut in the 1999 Tim Roth-directed drama, The War Zone; he has also starred in Minority Report (2002) The Recruit (2003), Daredevil (2003) and most recently in the Guy Richie action comedy film, The Gentleman (2019)
The anticipation: The Batman is slated to hit theaters an October 1, 2021
Several actors have stepped into the role of Penguin through the years.
Burgess Meredith, who passed away at 89 in 1997, played Penguin in the live-action TV series Batman from 1966 to 1968.
Danny DeVito, 75, stepped into the role in the 1992 film Batman Returns.
Richard Lord Taylor, 42, played Penguin in the action crime drama TV series Gotham from 2014 to 2019.
OG Penguin: Burgess Meredith, who passed away at 89 in 1997, played Penguin in the live-action TV series Batman from 1966 to 1968
Past Penguins: Danny DeVito, 75, stepped into the role in the 1992 film Batman Returns
Modern take: Richard Lord Taylor, 42, played Penguin in the action crime drama TV series Gotham from 2014-2019