Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito portrayed The Penguin in the past, and Robin Lord Taylor is currently doing so in Fox's Gotham. And now it looks as though Josh Gad might play the supervillain in the near future.
Gad, who played LeFou in this year's Beauty and the Beast, recently shared a photo of The Penguin via his official Twitter account. The photo isn't accompanied by a caption, so speculation that he might have landed the role in a DC Extended Universe installment, most probably The Batman, is running rampant.
"” Josh Gad (@joshgad) May 2, 2017
The tweet could have had several different meanings, so it would be unwise to jump to conclusions about the possibility that Gad will join the DCEU as The Penguin. It could mean that he’s auditioned for the part, but I seriously doubt that, because Matt Reeves is currently busy with War for the Planet of the Apes. He isn't supposed to be free until the end of June, so the casting process for the Caped Crusader's upcoming standalone movie won’t get underway until then. Maybe Gad shared the photo of Oswald Cobblepot because the role is on his wishlist.
It’s a bit strange to imagine the 36-year-old actor as The Penguin when Ben Affleck's Batman is in his mid-40s. The supervillain is usually depicted as being significantly older, but stranger things have happened in Hollywood!
At one point, the script for The Batman included Deathstroke as the main antagonist, but recent rumors suggested that the script was going through major rewrites following Reeves’ arrival as director. So Oswald Cobblepot could replace Joe Manganiello's Slade Wilson as the big baddie, or he could simply be one of the movie’s other villains.
Warner Bros. is developing some additional Batman-related movies, including Gotham City Sirens, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Suicide Squad 2. The Penguin could appear in one of those movies, as well.
Do you want to see Josh Gad as The Penguin in the DCEU? (GIF via Disney)
