MOVIE NEWS – Beyond the physical characterisation, the Batman villain’s personality is straight out of The Godfather

It isn’t easy to give many details of The Batman, the new adaptation of the superhero on the big screen with Robert Pattinson, because its director wanted it that way. But just a few months before its theatrical release, Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) wanted to share some clues about what we will be able to see in his film. Among them, a great detail about the inspiration he had when moulding one of Batman’s villains.

The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot for friends) is one of those villains who will appear in the film, along with the also confirmed Enigma, who will be played by Paul Dano. However, the former drew all the attention with the first teaser trailer when no one found Colin Farrell in that overweight, emaciated character.

But now, Matt Reeves has confessed that the character goes far beyond characterisation. Apparently, the director was inspired by a mythical character from The Godfather to instruct Colin Farrell: “There’s a touch of John Cazale as Fredo in The Godfather. He’s a mid-level mobster, and he’s got a bit of a showman, but you can tell he wants more, and he’s been underestimated. He’s ready to make his move,” Reeves said in an interview.

For his part, the actor charged with bringing to life the villain once played by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns also explained how the idea came about on set: “He mentioned Fredo to me, because Fredo is upset about the insignificance in which he lives, in a family that’s full of powerful, very bright, competent, very violent men. That’s why he commits the act of betrayal that he does because he’s weak, he’s broken, and it hurts him. There is a kind of fracture at the core of my character, which fuels his desire and ambition to rise within this criminal cabal. Where does that ascent go… I’d love to get to explore that in the second film, if it ever happens,” Farrell says, even leaving the door open for another appearance by his character.

Farrell, who has already taken on the role of a fierce harpooner in The Frozen Blood, promises to be one of The Batman’s biggest assets, in addition to the aforementioned Paul Dano, Zöe Kravitz as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) and, of course, the masked vigilante, Robert Pattinson. We’ll have to wait until March 4th to see them all on the big screen, but one can’t wait to see if there will be another Fredo-like moment in The Godfather.

Source: 20minutos