By Becca Lewis
| Published
While we love to see Jonah Hill playing an idiot billionaire in Don’t Look Up, is he really who we would want to see as The Penguin? Luckily, we don’t have to find out, because Colin Farrell picked up that flag and ran with it to deliver a satisfyingly spineless performance in the DC Entertainment miniseries. The Penguin is a slimy, seedy addition to the Batman franchise, and although Jonah Hill is great at lots of things, Colin Farrell really shines as the ruthless wannabe mobster, Oz Cob.
Jonah Hill Was Nearly The Penguin
It’s not clear why Jonah Hill would pass on playing the iconic role of the Penguin in The Batman, but it could have been because he seemed more interested in playing the character of the Riddler. While the loss of Hill on the project was reported as a major setback for the DC comic adaptation from Matt Reeves, it might have been for the best that Colin Farrell got the job, because he is still killing it in the role. As for Jonah Hill’s choice of roles, it’s likely that the final sticking point in negotiations with the studio wasn’t about The Riddler vs. the Penguin, but rather about money.
If the salary requirements for Jonah Hill to play the Penguin were to blame for his not getting the part, he could be regretting that choice now, as The Penguin, a sequel miniseries to The Batman is currently a smash hit. The Penguin has won a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and had 5.3 million views on HBO across its streaming platform within the first four days of its release. Jonah Hill might be kicking himself for not boarding that train at the first stop, even though fans of the series are smitten with Colin Farrell in the role.
The Penguin Miniseries
The Batman role that Jonah Hill turned down sparked the spinoff miniseries The Penguin, giving the comic book villain a backstory, and a chance to construct the character’s past. Oz Cobb, the wannabe gangster that becomes The Penguin, struggles to gain favor with his family, to survive the tumultuous violence of the crime family he works for, and to climb the gang’s ladder. He’s manipulative, smart, and scheming, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants, which is of course, to please his mother.
Colin Farrell Shines As Oz Cobb
Although Jonah Hill is a great villain, the comic book villain status of the Penguin is a whole other level of evil that he just might not be able to achieve. Colin Farrell transforms himself for the role into a sociopathic, remorseless, underdog, who lurks within the circle of the Falcone family, constructing an escape from his job as a driver, and weaving a revenge-fueled rise to power. Perhaps for Jonah Hill, the Riddler, rather than the Penguin would have been a better choice.
Whatever the reason was that Jonah Hill ultimately passed on the role of the Penguin in the 2022 film The Batman, audiences are thrilled with Colin Farrell in the role. The subsequent miniseries featuring the Penguin as the main character is a testament to the love fans have for the casting choice. Hopefully, Hill isn’t too regretful of his decision to pass, because he gave fans the Penguin character we always wanted.
