A new deleted scene from The Batman teases the Penguin's plans to take over Gotham.
Robert Pattinson's debut as the caped crusader was a smash-hit: it's grossed more than $750 million worldwide; it's sitting comfortably at 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes; and hype for a sequel and spin-offs is high.
With the film's digital release and addition to HBO Max in the US (and the UK, for the VPN-savvy among us), deleted scenes and extras have been making their way online, including this snipped scene with Colin Farrell's Penguin.
Farrell, rendered unrecognisable in extraordinary makeup, played Oswald Cobblepot. In the new film, he's a crime boss working for Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), yet to fully become the Penguin.
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The deleted scene shows Zoë Kravitz's Selena Kyle/Catwoman walking into the Penguin's office. She asks to work in the Iceberg Lounge’s club-within-a-club 44 Below, where the city's most dangerous criminals fraternise with the corrupt elite.
At first, he seems almost paternal, telling her: "Nah nah, you don't wanna do that... it's a bunch of jackals down there, they'd be all over you. I'm telling ya', it'd drive me crazy."
He then tries to offer Selina some money, but when she firmly declines, his tone takes a turn. "I know you don’t see it yet, honey. But Falcone ain’t gonna be around forever. One day this city is going to be mine," he warns her.
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It's a rather short scene, so it's a little strange it never made the final cut. It also comes after Barry Keoghan's extended scene as the Joker was released online, after his brief appearance near the end of the movie.
We'll almost certainly see the Clown Prince of Crime down the line as Pattinson's Batman prepares for a new adversary, while Farrell is reprising his villainous role for a spin-off series on HBO Max.
The actor said (as per The Hollywood Reporter): "The world that Matt Reeves created for The Batman is one that warrants a deeper gaze through the eyes of Oswald Cobblepot.
"I couldn’t be more excited about continuing this exploration of Oz as he rises through the darkened ranks to become the Penguin. Will be good to get him back on the streets of Gotham for a little madness and a little mayhem."
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A Gotham PD spin-off was originally in the works too, but it's been put on-hold indefinitely with development focused on another series centred around Arkham Asylum, which Reeves described as a 'horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham'.
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Topics: Batman, Film and TV, Entertainment