Colin Farrell says The Batman: Part 2 is even scarier than the first.
Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival on Sunday, September 28, where he picked up a Golden Icon Award, the actor spoke about what awaits audiences in the sequel.
“I’ve read the script, from start to finish, and I can’t say much about it,” Farrell said via The Hollywood Reporter. "But it’s deeper, scarier, the stakes are bigger. I’m really excited to see it.”
That’s despite a diminished presence, with the actor saying, “I’ve got an even smaller role in this one. But I’m OK with that."
In The Batman, which was released in 2022, Farrell plays The Penguin, a mob boss and owner of seedy Gotham nightclub the Iceberg Lounge. The actor admits he wasn’t entirely on board with the role at first.
“I was so excited when I got the script, and then I read it and was like, ‘I’ve only got five scenes,'” he recalled. “I didn’t really get it either. I thought he was a bit silly, a bit of a putz.” However, Farrell was later won over by the look of the character.
“I’ll never forget it. [Director] Matt [Reeves] went, ‘come in, come in.’ And he opened up his laptop and showed it to me. The first time I saw it, the cogs crunched. Everything in the script became clear. Every little pockmark. The character was ferocious looking, but I could imagine every aspect of the character’s life, even moving ones. It just gave me so much information,” Farrell said.
In The Batman: Part 2, a new villain will be introduced, though the character has yet to be named.
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, posted September 17, director Matt Reeves said the villain of The Batman: Part 2 has “never really been done in a movie before.” That rules out the likes of Joker, Poison Ivy, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul, Deadshot, Killer Croc, and Black Mask.
Some fans point to Clayface as the possible villain of The Batman: Part 2, though filmmaker Mike Flanagan is also developing a separate Clayface project. Others speculate it could be Hush, a master strategist and disguise expert, noting the first film’s reference to journalist Edward Elliot — a possible nod to Tommy Elliot’s comic book origins.
Whoever it is, Farrell’s just happy to be back as The Penguin. Being cast, he said, was a dream come true for “that child in Dublin who used to draw Batman signals on his jeans.”
“I can do five hours a day riffing as the Penguin, and even my sense of humor changes. I’d call my kids in character.”