Penguin May Be the Villain in 'The Batman' or 'Birds of Prey'

While we still have no idea when "The Batman" is hitting the big screen, we may now know who will be antagonizing the titular hero.

Variety reporter Justin Kroll has been tweeting about a new rumor floating around the DCEU, focused on the Penguin. The villain is apparently currently the main choice to appear in director Matt Reeves's spinoff flick, according to Kroll's sources.

Take this with a grain of salt as things are constantly changing in the DCEU but I'm hearing the Penguin is possibly the choice to play the main villain in THE BATMAN. Sources add even if Reeves decide to go another route the studio could then make him the main villain in BOP

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 30, 2018

The reporter cautions that fans should "Take this with a grain of salt as things are constantly changing in the DCEU," but the word on the street is that studio Warner Bros. is very keen on including Penguin in some fashion on the big screen, "sooner rather than later." If the villain doesn't ultimately end up in "The Batman," there's a very good chance he'll star in the "Birds of Prey" spinoff, fronted by Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.

Reeves is still working on the script, so that could always change but of the multiple BIRDS OF PREY scripts submitted, one does have the Penguin as the main heavy. Either way, it seems WB wants this character cast in the universe sooner rather then later.

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 30, 2018

That's certainly some intriguing scoop, and we're curious to see how another actor portrays the quirky character, who was previously memorably played by Danny DeVito in Tim Burton's "Batman Returns." (And is also featured on Fox's prequel series, "Gotham.")

Of course, as Kroll noted, this is all speculation right now, since Reeves clearly isn't anywhere close to shooting, and we don't even have a release date yet for "The Batman." And then there's the question of who exactly is going to play the Caped Crusader, since Ben Affleck is heavily rumored to be looking for a way out of the DCEU ASAP.

Fans will likely have to wait a while for answers. In the meantime, feel free to dream cast who you would want to play the new version of the Penguin.

[via: Justin Kroll/Twitter]